Metabolic syndrome: what it is, risks, solutions

Metabolic syndrome, a little known but widespread condition, is linked to various risk factors including sustained high levels of insulin in the bloodstream. People with this condition have a raised risk of heart disease and heart attack as well as stroke, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and infertility in women.

This ultimate lifestyle disease is the direct result of too little exercise and too much central fat. The two conspire to make muscle and liver cells resist the messages from insulin, a hormone that persuades cells to absorb blood sugar. Then, because your cells aren't responding to the insulin your body normally creates, more insulin is pumped out. In the end your cells do absorb blood sugar — but insulin levels may remain dangerously high for decades.

Here's some information on what you can do if you're concerned about metabolic syndrome.

If you have at least three of the following warning signs, you may already have metabolic syndrome. And, as a result, high insulin levels may threaten your heart more than you or your doctor realize.

• Central obesity — having a waist measurement of more than 102 centimetres (40 inches) for men or 88 centimetres (35 inches) for women.
• Higher-than-normal blood pressure (140/90 or higher).
• Higher-than-normal triglycerides (1.7 mmol/l or higher).
• Below-normal HDL cholesterol: under 0.9 mmol/l for men or 1 mmol/l for women.
• Type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, which produces a blood glucose level of 7.8 mmol/l or higher at 120 minutes on an oral glucose test.

• Being overweight: a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Protein in your urine (microalbuminuria) as a result of kidney disease — a classic marker for damage that diabetes has caused
• Being over the age of 40
• South Asian, West African or Caribbean ethnicity
• A family or personal history of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease
• Acanthosis nigricans: patches of thick, brownish, velvety skin at the neck, armpits, groin or, for women, under the breasts
• Polycystic ovary syndrome, a female infertility problem
• For women: a history of diabetes during pregnancy

A European study in 2002 gave the first conclusive biological evidence of a link between stress and metabolic syndrome.

Encouragingly, the study found that the harmful effects of stress were at least partly reversible through measures like losing weight or lowering blood pressure.

There is a reasonably good standard medical test for measuring insulin levels as well as blood glucose levels during a glucose tolerance test. This test is likely to be used increasingly as the importance of metabolic syndrome is realized. Even without a test, there is a likelihood that you have metabolic syndrome if you have at least three of the warning signs listed above.

Doctors advise patients to lose weight and increase levels of physical activity. They may also recommend drugs such as statins to deal with high levels of blood cholesterol and other drugs to manage high blood pressure.

However, self-care is among the best treatment for metabolic syndrome. Even a little exercise lowers insulin levels and boosts insulin sensitivity. Weight loss also makes your cells more sensitive to insulin, so your body can stay healthy while producing less of it.

Keep this information about metabolic syndrome in mind to help you understand the risks it poses to you on your way to health. And, if you have any questions about the condition, be sure to bring them up with your doctor.