Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that often occur together and increase the risk of lifestyle related disease, such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The term “metabolic” refers to the biochemical processes involved in the body’s normal functioning, including how it converts food into energy.
“You cannot medicate your way out of a problem you behaved your way into”
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, you’ll expect to see at least three of the following conditions:
- abdominal obesity (excess fat around the waist),
- high blood pressure,
- high blood sugar levels, poor cholesterol balance, namely high LOW-density lipoprotein levels (LDL), or low HIGH-density lipoprotein levels (HDL).
Abuse on the body from all these angles creates a dangerous synergy that significantly impacts your overall health.
We can very easily identify the risk of metabolic syndrome by measuring visceral fat, blood pressure and waist circumference – these are measured in our Wellness Score .
Abdominal obesity, what we measure as ‘visceral fat’, is a central characteristic of metabolic syndrome and is particularly concerning. This fat is metabolically active and releases substances that promote inflammation and interfere with insulin signalling. This can lead to insulin resistance, a key factor in the development of type 2 diabetes.
In our later blogs, you can find out more about how we can help you identify risk factors of metabolic syndrome, how we measure it, and of course how to manage it!
Find out the causes of metabolic syndrome in the next blog… Part 2- Causes and risk factors
In conclusion:
If you think you might be suffering with Metabolic syndrome, ask us about it. We have a selection of tests that allow us to discover exactly what the concerns are.
Call us to book a no obligation consultation