Treatment
As many as 25 percent of Canadians have metabolic syndrome, which is actually the name for a number of risk factors:
- Excess central body fat
- High triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood)
- High blood pressure
- Elevated fasting blood glucose
- Low levels of HDL cholesterol (sometimes called the “good” cholesterol)
The good news is that metabolic syndrome can be effectively treated by taking control of your health. “Metabolic syndrome can be reversed, and the treatment of it falls into changing your lifestyle,” says Dr. Richard Bebb, an endocrinologist active in the Men's Health Initiative of BC. “We like patients to be physically active regularly, to be on a prudent diet, and ideally, to gradually lose the central body fat that they have.”
Patients can lose weight by following Canada's Food Guide when preparing meals. Canada's Physical Activity Guide recommends that adults exercise 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week. You should also talk to your physician about lowering your cholesterol through diet changes, exercise or cholesterol-lowering drugs.
“If your central body fat decreases, your physiology will endeavour to get itself back to normal,” says Dr. Bebb. “You can drop your blood sugars, you can drop your blood pressure, and you can improve your cholesterol.”
