Metabolic syndrome, (also, syndrome x, insulin resistance syndrome) is a combination of medical disorders that affect a large number of people. If you have three or more of the following five conditions, you are diagnosed as metabolic syndrome:

- Increased waist circumference (>=102 cm in men and >=88 cm in women), indicating central obesity

- Elevated triglycerides (>=150 mg/dL or 1.7 mmol/l)

- Decreased HDL cholesterol (<40 mg/dL for men, <50 mg/dL for women)

- Blood pressure above 130/85 or active treatment for hypertension

- Glucose levels above 100 mg/dL (a symptom of diabetes)

Generally, the individual diseases that comprise metabolic syndrome are treated separately. A remarkable finding is, however, that drugs that decrease insulin resistance (metformin and thiazolidinediones) not only reduce hyperglycemia but generally lead to an improvement in blood pressure and cholesterol (lipid profile) as well. Exercise and weight loss may be helpful, particularly in preventing progression to diabetes mellitus.

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