Metabolic syndrome is a group of factors considered to increase the risk of a person developing Heart Attacks and Stroke. [paralysis]. It is also called Syndrome X.The factors which comprise the Metabolic Syndrome are:
- High blood sugar level [Diabetes Mellitus]
- High Blood Pressure [Hypertension]
- Excess Weight [Obesity]
- Increased Blood cholesterol levels [Hyperlipidemia]
The presence of more than one of these factors simultaneously increases the risk of developing serious diseases exponentially.
As Bapu had stated during his seminar, we never see the word, “Obesity” appearing on the Death Certificates, instead it's "heart attack", "heart failure", "stroke", "diabetes", "cancer", "dementia", or "cirrhosis of liver". But we must always remember that ‘These are diseases that "travel" with obesity.’
This means that many of the diseases which cause serious health problems in us are caused due to the presence of obesity.
Now let us take a brief look through the various factors which make up Metabolic Syndrome.
Obesity
How many of us are overweight?
Is the flab that we see on our body the only indicator of obesity?
Why were people living just a few decades ago not as obese as we are now?
These are just a few of the questions that we have been facing repeatedly over the past few years and we need answers to these questions soon. Here we shall get a brief introduction of obesity and we shall oublisg detailed article in a few days.
India is in the grip of the Obesity epidemic. It has been reported across many publications that junk food among other factors is a major factor contributing to Obesity.
The factsheet on Obesity and Overweight published by WHO states the following:
- Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980.
- In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese.
- 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese.
- Most of the world's population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
- 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013.
- Obesity is preventable. [https://images.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/]
This describes the significant problems that Obesity and Overweight pose to all of us.
Body Mass Index
The Body Mass Index is a good indicator of the body weight status of a person.
BMI Caluclation:
BMI=weight in Kg/(height in m)2
Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
[toggles title="Click here to view 'Ideal Height-Weight Chart'"]
|
Men |
Women |
| Height in Feet & Metres |
Weight in kgs |
Weight in kgs |
| 5'-0" (1.523 m) |
51-54.5 |
50.8-54.5 |
| 5'-1" (1.548 m) |
52-56 |
52-55.5 |
| 5'-2" (1.574 m) |
56-60 |
53-57 |
| 5'-3" (1.599 m) |
57-62 |
54.5-58 |
| 5'-4" (1.624 m) |
59-63.5 |
56-60 |
| 5'-5" (1.650 m) |
61-65.5 |
57.5-62 |
| 5'-6" (1.675 m) |
62-66.5 |
59-63.5 |
| 5'-7" (1.700 m) |
64.0-68.5 |
61-65.5 |
| 5'-8" (1.726 m) |
65.8-70.8 |
62.2-66.7 |
| 5'-9" (1.751 m) |
67.5-72.5 |
64.0-68.5 |
| 5'-10" (1.777 m) |
69.5-74.5 |
66-70.5 |
| 5'-11" (1.802 m) |
71-76 |
67-71.5 |
| 6'-0" (1.827 m) |
73.0-78.5 |
68.5-74 |
| 6'-1" (1.853 m) |
73.5-81.5 |
73.5-81 |
| 6'-2" (1.878 m) |
77.5-84 |
77.5-83.5 |
| 6'-3" (1.904 m) |
80-86 |
80-85.5 |
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Diabetes Mellitus
People having High sugar levels are called Diabetics.
[toggles title="Interpretation of Blood Glucose Levels"]
| Category |
Fasting Blood Glucose Level |
Post-prandial (2hours after Food) Glucose Level |
| Normal |
70 – 100 mg/dl |
<140mg/dl |
| Impaired Glucose Tolerance |
100 – 126 mg/dl |
140 – 200 mg/dl |
| Diabetes mellitus |
>126 mg/dl |
>200 mg/dl |
[/toggles]
Diabetes Mellitus is broadly classified into
- Type I Diabetes Mellitus
- Type II Diabetes Mellitus
[toggles title="Click here To Know More About Type I Diabetes Mellitus"]
Type I Diabetes Mellitus earlier known as Juvenile onset Diabetes which is caused due to inability of the body to produce sufficient Insulin in the body. In this condition the insulin levels in the body are lower than normal.
This is mostly seen to occur at very early ages hence also referred to as childhood diabetes.
[/toggles]
[toggles title="Click here To Know More About Type II Diabetes Mellitus"]
Type II Diabetes Mellitus earlier known as Adult Onset Diabetes is caused by inability of the cells in the body to use the insulin it produces. This is called Insulin Resistance. In this condition the insulin levels in the body are higher than in normal persons but this cannot be used by the body.
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- Globally, as of 2010, an estimated 285 million people had diabetes, with type 2 making up about 90% of the cases.
- In 2013, according to International Diabetes Federation, an estimated 381 million people had diabetes.
- By the year 2030, there will be an estimated 100 million diabetics in India alone. [http://ccebdm.org/news.php]
Hypertension
High Blood pressure is called Hypertension. We always read BP as Systolic BP/Diastolic BP. A BP of >140/90 mm hg is considered to be Hypertension.
Systolic BP is the pressure of the blood within the arteries when the heart is in a phase of contraction. Normal range of Systolic BP is 100-140 mm Hg.
Diastolic BP is the pressure within the arteries when the heart is in a phase of relaxation. Normal range of Diastolic Pressure is 60-90 mm Hg.
Hyperlipidemia
Abnormally increased blood lipid [fat] levels, is the crude definition of Hyperlipidemia. This refers to the fats in the blood. These levels are independent of body fat which means that these levels may be abnormal even in a thin person.
The blood lipid test reveals details about the good and bad cholesterol in our blood.
Bad Cholesterols
- LDL [Low Density Lipoproteins]
- VLDL [Very Low Density Lipoproteins]
- Triglycerides
are bad cholesterols which mean that their presence in excess of normal levels is bad for the heart.
HDL cholesterol is the good cholesterol and this is generally found in lower amounts in many patients.
Reference Levels
| |
Normal level |
| Total Cholesterol |
Upto 200 mg/dl |
| LDL Cholesterol |
Upto 100 mg/dl |
| Triglycerides |
Upto 150 mg/dl |
| VLDL Cholesterol |
2 to 30 mg/dL |
| HDL Cholesterol |
More than 40-60 mg/dl |
[maxbutton id="5" url="https://images.healthonics.healthcare/metabolic-syndrome-hindi/" ]
