Metabolic syndrome is easier to treat than obesity. Metabolic syndrome predicts heart attack risk in women, affects fertility and pregnancy, and will become a top priority for physicians this year.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as 3 or more of the following:
*abdominal obesity: waist circumference more than 40″ in men and 35″ in women;
*hypertriglyceridemia: more than 150 mg/dl;
*low HDL cholesterol: less than 40 mg/dl in men and 50 mg/dl in women;
*high blood pressure: more than 130/85 mmHg; and
*high fasting glucose: more than 100 mg/dl.
Why does it occur? It’s not overweight or obesity. It’s insulin resistance, and cortisol production in the body. Insulin resistance occurs primarily in muscle. Your abdominal fat causes increased free fatty acids, which in turn cause the insulin resistance in muscle.
What can you do about it? The truth hurts…but multidisciplinary therapeutic lifestyle counseling is the first-line treatment. Achieving accountability for an individualized eating program–that’s the ticket.