What Is Metabolic Syndrome?
Synopsis: Metabolic syndrome is a condition that people should be aware of. Read on to learn more about metabolic syndrome in general.
Metabolic syndrome is actually a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of heart problems, as well as the chances of getting diabetes. Metabolic syndrome often includes a wide variety of different individual metabolic risks that together can spell bad news for an individual's health, and almost certainly mean that the person needs to lose weight in order to have any chance at a decent quality of life.
Some of the disorders that can combine to make up metabolic syndrome include:
- Major abdominal obesity
- High cholesterol
- Consistently high blood pressure
- Insulin resistance
- Glucose intolerance
- Various blood or fat disorders
Metabolic syndrome is a very serious issue, and people who have metabolic syndrome are at high risk for a bunch of different artery or heart conditions which all point towards the same thing: increased change of heart attack or stroke.
High rates of obesity in the United States have made metabolic syndrome nothing short of epidemic. Over 50 million Americans are estimated to have metabolic syndrome at some level, according to the American Heart Association. There aren't too many recommendations for how to deal with metabolic syndrome, because there don't need to be. The American Heart Association lists three main courses of action to take, and they are pretty simple and straight forward.
Action number one is to begin a long term weight loss program to get into shape and get to a healthy BMI level that won't have the person at high risk for stroke, diabetes, or heart disease. The official goal BMI according to the AHA is 25. Action number two is to increase physical activity to a minimum of 30 minutes a day of light to moderate activity. The third action recommended is to establish healthy eating habits with a specific goal of cutting back trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Metabolic syndrome is a serious issue, but it is also one that people can deal with on their own by getting up, making an effort to get out, get some exercise in and eat healthy to help lose weight. People are habit oriented by nature. Bad actions become habits easily, but good actions can also become habit with a little bit of hard work and persistence.