Ok, I’m getting off my soapbox from last week. This week I’d like to talk about an all too common and deadly disorder that was discovered in the past 20 years. It’s called metabolic syndrome.
I say common because it’s so widespread. The American Heart Association reports that 47 million Americans have it. And despite being so prevalent, it’s a condition that not many people know about. Even the experts debate about it because it consists of multiple risk factors.
But one thing is for sure. If you have any of the risk factors, you have a higher possibility of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And as your age increases, so does your risk.
So what exactly is metabolic syndrome?
According to WebMD, metabolic syndrome is not a disease; it’s a group of risk factors. These risk factors include the following:
- High blood pressure (135/85 or greater)
- High blood sugar (insulin resistance or glucose intolerance)
- Unhealthy cholesterol levels (low HDL, high LDL, and high triglycerides)
- Abdominal fat (waist size of 40″ + for men, and 35″ + for women)
Abdominal obesity and insulin resistance appear to be the dominant underlying risk factors. And most of the disorders associated with metabolic syndrome have no symptoms, although a large waste circumference is a visible sign. The primary cause has been linked to obesity and inactivity.
People with metabolic syndrome have an increased long-term risk for developing cardiovascular disease (including heart attack and stroke), type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, and poor blood supply to the legs.
What can you do to reverse or prevent the serious health risks associated with metabolic syndrome? It starts with aggressive lifestyle changes. You need to:
- Eat healthy
- Exercise
- Lose weight
- Stop smoking
These changes are all under your control. It comes down to how long you want to live and how healthy you want to be while you’re alive?
The ball is in your court so choose wisely by developing better habits.
Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts?
If you know someone that can benefit from this content, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.