Insulin resistanceWhen the body's cells stop responding properly to insulin, so the pancreas must make more and more of it to keep blood sugar normal.
Metabolic syndrome
Also known as Syndrome X, Insulin resistance syndrome
A cluster of findings — abdominal weight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol — that together sharply raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Each component is common on its own. The point of naming the cluster is that together they multiply risk rather than add to it.
The five components
- Waist circumference above the threshold for your ethnicity
- Raised
- Low HDL (the protective cholesterol)
- Raised blood pressure
- Raised fasting
Three of the five make the diagnosis.
Related terms
- HypertensionHigh blood pressure, Blood pressure ka marzHypertension is blood pressure that stays high enough, over repeated proper measurements, to damage the arteries over time. It almost never causes symptoms, which is why it is found by measuring rather than by feeling unwell.
- TriglyceridesTriglycerides are the main form in which fat is carried in the blood and stored in the body. They are measured as part of a lipid profile, and a high level adds to cardiovascular risk.
- Waist circumferenceThe measurement around your middle. For South Asian adults, above about 90cm in men and 80cm in women signals raised risk of diabetes and heart disease.