Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors: How Many Do You Meet?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions - abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and unhealthy cholesterol levels (high triglycerides, low HDL) - that together sharply raise the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This checklist uses the widely used NCEP ATP III criteria to check how many of 5 factors (waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol) you meet.
Waist circumference counts as a risk factor at 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women. Blood pressure counts if it's 130/85 mmHg or higher, or you're on medication for it. Fasting glucose counts at 100 mg/dL or higher, triglycerides at 150 mg/dL or higher, and HDL cholesterol counts if it's under 40 mg/dL (men) or under 50 mg/dL (women).
Meeting 3 or more of these criteria indicates metabolic syndrome, and even 2 is considered borderline and worth addressing through lifestyle changes. This result reflects a general tendency only - an actual diagnosis and treatment plan should always be determined with a doctor through proper lab testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not quite - 2 factors already counts as borderline, and without lifestyle changes it can progress to 3 or more, so improving diet and exercise habits is worthwhile.
No. An actual diagnosis requires proper lab work and blood pressure measurement at a clinic. This checklist only shows a general approximation for reference.