Metabolic syndrome: What is it and how can I prevent or control it?

Up to one-third of American adults have metabolic syndrome, but what does that mean and how does it affect your health? Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic condition that increases a person’s risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. A person is diagnosed with metabolic syndrome when they have at least three of the five conditions below. If you only have one or two of the conditions, you do not have metabolic syndrome, but you can have an increased risk for chronic diseases.

1. Obesity: In particular, abdominal obesity (around your waist). For men, this is a waist measurement of 40+ inches, and for women, it’s 35+ inches. The reason why this is of concern is because of the location of the extra fat tissue. Your waist is where most of your organs are located, so this places more fat closer to your organs.

2. Increased blood pressure: Currently the criteria for increased blood pressure is 130+ mm Hg for the top number (systolic) and 85+ mm Hg for the bottom number (diastolic). A normal blood pressure is less than 120 mm Hg for systolic and less than 80 mm Hg for diastolic (120/80).

3. High blood sugar: If you have a fasting glucose test of 100 mg/dL or more, then you have high blood sugar. A fasting glucose test tests the amount of sugar in your blood when you haven’t eaten for at least eight hours. If your fasting glucose is greater than 100 mg/dL, you are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

4. Low HDL cholesterol: High-density lipoproteins are the good cholesterol that circulates throughout your blood. For good cholesterol, we want our HDL to be 60+ mg/dL, low HDL is lower than 40 mg/dL.

5. High triglycerides: Triglycerides are fats in your blood. If you have high triglycerides, 150+ mg/dL, then you have an increased risk of heart disease.

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