Metabolic Syndrome Risk Calculator
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of five interconnected risk factors that together significantly raise your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. This calculator uses the IDF/AHA/NHLBI clinical definition to score you against each criterion — and tells you exactly where you stand.
Enter your measurements — use recent lab results where possible
You can skip lab values you don't have — we'll flag those as unknown in your result.
Used to apply sex-specific thresholds for waist circumference and HDL cholesterol.
Measure at the narrowest point of your torso (just above the belly button). Threshold: ≥40 in / 102 cm (male) · ≥35 in / 88 cm (female).
Being on these medications automatically meets criterion 2 per clinical guidelines, even if your result appears normal.
Threshold: below 40 mg/dL (male) · below 50 mg/dL (female). Select the option that matches your result and sex.
Leave blank if you don't know. Threshold: systolic ≥130 or diastolic ≥85 mmHg.
Being treated for high blood pressure counts as meeting criterion 4, even if your current reading is controlled.
Must be a fasting result (no food for ≥8 hours). Threshold: ≥100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L).
Why metabolic syndrome matters
Metabolic syndrome affects roughly 1 in 3 adults and is one of the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes — yet most people have never heard of it. The five criteria cluster together because they share a common root: insulin resistance. When cells become resistant to insulin, the body compensates in ways that simultaneously raise blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides, and abdominal fat while lowering protective HDL cholesterol.
Meeting 3 or more criteria roughly doubles cardiovascular risk and increases type 2 diabetes risk fivefold. The good news is that metabolic syndrome is almost entirely reversible through targeted lifestyle changes — and the earlier it's identified, the better the outcome.
The 5 criteria (IDF/AHA/NHLBI 2009): central obesity (waist) · high triglycerides · low HDL · elevated blood pressure · elevated fasting glucose. Meeting 3 or more = metabolic syndrome.