Health Tips for October 19

Health Tip: Understanding Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of factors that combine to increase a person's risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, including stroke.

The American Heart Association offers this list of criteria for metabolic syndrome:

• Excess fat around the abdomen.
• High triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol.
• High blood pressure.
• Difficulty processing insulin.
• High levels of fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in the blood.
• High blood levels of C-reactive protein.

Health Tip: Help Prevent Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome occurs when being overweight or obese -- combined with other risk factors -- increase a person's chances of developing heart disease and diabetes.

These risk factors include abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and a poor ratio of good-to-bad cholesterol.

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests how you can help prevent metabolic syndrome:

• Maintain a healthy body-mass index (BMI) of less than 25.
• Keep your waistline at a healthy size. Less than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men is ideal.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. Talk to your doctor about the best weight for you.
• Stick to a low-calorie, low-cholesterol and low-fat eating plan.
• Get regular exercise. In general, 60 minutes worth, five-to-seven days per week, is recommended for most people.
• Visit your doctor regularly, and frequently test your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.