Metabolic Syndrome; Treatment

The cornerstone of treatment for metabolic syndrome is simple: improving your diet, restricting calories, losing weight and/or maintaining a normal body weight, and increasing levels of physical activity. One major study found that for every pound lost, the risk of metabolic syndrome decreased by 22 percent.

Don't try a crash diet, however; they don't work. Instead, the best approach is to reduce your total calories--by up to 1,000 calories a day, depending on your weight. You can cut out 500 calories a day, for instance, simply by skipping that Frappucchino and cutting out one large soda.

Cutting calories isn't enough, however, if you're after long-term weight loss. You also have to change the way you eat and view food. That means setting goals for weight loss, planning meals, reading labels, reducing portion sizes and avoiding eating binges. Measuring and cutting calories can be complicated, so you might try even simpler techniques like setting aside 10 percent of your meal before you even start. You'll eat less and not even notice the difference.

And you don't have to lose a lot of weight; aim for five to 10 percent of your weight over six to 12 months. If you weigh 200 pounds, that's a loss of 10 to 20 pounds, enough to change the way you look and feel and improve many of those metabolic markers.

Even if you're not aiming to lose weight, you should change your diet. Studies find a diet high in saturated fat, simple sugars and cholesterol contributes to metabolic syndrome. Reducing the amount you eat while increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet is best.