Metabolic syndrome affects one in for adults in the USA, making it one of the fastest growing health issues in the developed world. It is characterised by the grouping of five risk factors: high blood pressure, low ‘good’ cholesterol, high blood sugar, large waist size and high triglycerides. If you have two or three of these risk factors, you are then twice as likely to develop heart disease and five times more likely to develop diabetes as somebody who does not have risk factors for metabolic syndrome.
In countries such as the US where healthcare costs are a factor, it is also worth bearing in mind that having these risk factors also increases the costs of healthcare by up to 25 percent for each risk factor that you possess.
Metabolic Health in Small Bytes is the new of the new online programme that has been developed off the back of recent research into metabolic syndrome. Previous participants in the programme have shown reduction in risk factors for metabolic syndrome, alongside improved productivity and physical activity.
The programme will be used to help educate people on the issue and then offer them support and incentives to help encourage them to change their lifestyles and reduce their risk factors. This is likely to be used in organisations, and will help employers educate their staff on ways to be healthier, thus reducing the healthcare costs for their organisation.
Inside the ‘virtual classroom’ of the software, participants can interact with their class teacher and with each other, as they learn how to tackle the root causes of obesity.