Metabolic Syndrome

There are five conditions which are very common among people who are generally unhealthy. They are:

• High blood sugar
• Low levels of HDL (“good” cholesterol)
• High levels of triglycerides
• Large amount of abdominal fat
• High blood pressure

If you have three of these conditions, that is considered to be “metabolic syndrome.”

It seems to be just shorthand for saying, “You are in poor physical condition and this is a threat to your life.”

I feel like this might just be something created for analytics. I doubt any doctor would tell one of their patients that they have metabolic syndrome, but by classifying them as such gives them some statistics – “3 out of 5 adults have metabolic syndrome,” or something.

Why I Looked It Up

I had heard the term for years, and wasn’t sure if there was a specific definition for it. Still seems vague.