You may have heard of the condition metabolic syndrome, but it’s not easy to fully understand it. Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. The risk factors for metabolic syndrome include having a large waistline, having high triglycerides (fat in the blood), low HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), high blood pressure, and high sugar levels in the blood.
Importance of a healthy lifestyle
Researchers suggest that you only need three of these risk factors to be at a heightened risk for metabolic syndrome—meaning you could develop heart disease, diabetes, or have a stroke.
In order to prevent metabolic syndrome and reduce your risk of serious health threats, it’s important that you live a healthy lifestyle. This can be done by maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the amount of fat centered around your mid-section, improving your diet, and above all, exercising regularly. It’s important that you aim for a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or lower and having a waist measure of less than 35 inches for women and below 40 inches for men.
Advertisement
If lifestyle changes aren’t enough to keep you healthy, then you will want to see your doctor in order to see what treatments are available to keep your health numbers in check. This may involves taking cholesterol or blood pressure medications, or any other type of medications to ensure that you prevent metabolic syndrome from occurring.
This is even more important if you’re a person who has a family history of diabetes or heart disease. You’re risk of developing these health problems is higher compared to someone without a family history. Know your risk, speak to family members, and see your doctor, along with taking the necessary healthy lifestyle tips in order to reduce your risk for metabolic syndrome.
Related: Eating avocados may decrease risk of metabolic syndrome
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University (University of Health Sciences). He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine (Homoeopathy), and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
