Metabolic syndrome is generally defined as a cluster of factors that increase a person’s risk for heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. In addition, it significantly raises the risk of:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Type 2 diabetes

• Fatty liver disease

• Kidney disease

• Cognitive dysfunction and dementia

• Sleep apnea

And the longer you have metabolic syndrome, the higher the risks. For instance, research finds that people who have had metabolic syndrome but never suffered a heart attack have a 16 percent to 18 percent higher heart attack risk than people who have never had a heart attack. This actually puts them in the same category as heart attack survivors, who are at higher risk for a second attack.

Being diagnosed with three or more of the following conditions indicates a person has metabolic syndrome:

• Obesity. A body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or waist size of greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women constitutes obesity.

• Elevated triglycerides. Like cholesterol, triglycerides are a type of blood fat. A healthy level for adults is below 150 mg/dL; between 150 mg/dL and 199 mg/dL is borderline high; above 200 mg/dL is a high triglyceride level.

• Low HDL cholesterol. This so-called “good cholesterol” level should be above 40 mg/dL in men and above 50 mg/dL in women.

• High blood pressure. A systolic blood pressure reading of 130 mmHg or above, or a diastolic blood pressure reading of or 85 mmHg or above, or previously diagnosed hypertension that requires medication indicate a risk factor for metabolic syndrome.

• Elevated blood sugar. Having a fasting plasma glucose level of 100 mg/dL or higher and taking diabetes medications are risk factors as well.