What is Metabolic Syndrome? Along with "the accumulation of adipose fat" high blood pressure, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), and hyperlipidemia (high fat or cholesterol) generally called lifestyle disease in several combination is called metabolic syndrome. If you leave this condition alone, hardening of the arteries or blood vessels advances rapidly and your chances of having life threatening diseases like heart attack or stroke will increase. Diagnosis Criteria (for Japanese) Firstly, diagnosis of internal organ visceral fat accumulation will be measured by measuring areas around the waist. If three or more of the measured points are above the standard level including obesity, you will be diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome.   How can we prevent Metabolic Syndrome? By reducing internal organ visceral fat we can protect ourselves against metabolic syndrome. The best way to a check of our visceral fat, we could measure our abdominal girth. By avoiding irregular diet, overeating, or unbalanced diet, and performing aerobic exercises like walking or swimming everyday, will be effective in reducing internal organ visceral fat.   Let's Stop Smoking Now By smoking we are reducing our beneficial cholesterol (HDL high density cholesterol) and increasing our bad (LDL low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which worsens our hardening of the arteries or arteriosclerosis. With your strong desire to stop smoking, but because of your years of smoking and amount of cigarettes you smoked you are diagnosed by your physician that you have a high degree of dependency to nicotine, you can receive medical insurance benefit to take non-smoking supplements (eg. nicotine patches, nicorettes) or out-patient treatment.