Americans are fatter than ever before, and the growing obesity epidemic has led to increased diagnosis of a condition labeled metabolic syndrome.

Doctor's have discovered that there's a metabolic syndrome that can help warn people that they may be headed towards unwanted health issues. Barbara Rosen says, "They discovered that I had a metabolic process going on in my body that was leading me directly towards insulin resistance diabetes."

Cardiologist Vladimir Ilic says that metabolic syndrome isn't a disease; rather, it's a collection of risks that increase your chances of developing diabetes, having a stroke or a heart attack. Having three of the five risk factors is considered having metabolic syndrome. Those risk factors are: a high waist circumference, high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, elevated triglycerides and low HDL or "good cholesterol." "We usually do blood work including lipid profile, which includes total cholesterol and finally triglycerides, which are increased in that syndrome and also they have some relationship with increase cardiovascular events."

Dr. Ilic also says that as for the risk factor concerning measurements around your waist, for women the danger starts when your waste is larger than 36 inches and for men you don't want to go over 40.

"Some of the people definitely are going to lose some weight but also change the bad habits." There are also medications your doctor may prescribe for you if you have this syndrome. It's also a warning for you to make healthy lifestyle changes and take action for your health.

There is some genetic link to this syndrome but most people may be able to treat it by altering their lifestyle alone. In fact, losing just 10% of excess body weight lowers blood pressure and improves insulin resistance.