metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is not a single disease but a recognisable cluster of risk traits that tend to travel together and, as a group, raise the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The common thread is often the body's reduced response to insulin, with central (around-the-waist) fat as a frequent driver.

It is usually diagnosed when a person has at least three of five features: a large waist circumference, raised triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and high fasting blood glucose. None of these is alarming alone, but their combination signals a metabolic state that quietly promotes atherosclerosis and insulin resistance.

The label is useful chiefly as a flag to act early — it identifies people who would benefit from weight loss, more activity and attention to each component. A fair caveat is that experts debate whether it adds much beyond treating each factor on its own; either way, the response is the same: tackle the shared root through lifestyle and, where needed, targeted treatment.