Indians tend to be diabetic at a relatively young age of 45 years, which is about 10 years earlier than in the West. A recent study shows that Generation Next Indians are getting more and more vulnerable to Syndrome X (a cluster of symptoms that increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes) than any other population in the world.

You could be having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, depressed HDL levels, central obesity (apple shaped body or fat mainly around the abdomen), insulin resistance; when insulin does not effectively transport glucose into muscle cells, high fasting blood sugar, type II diabetes, chronic fatigue or difficulty in losing weight.

If you have five of the above-mentioned conditions, then you probably have syndrome X. It means that you have a high possibility of acquiring heart disease, a leading cause of death in urban India. Although Syndrome-X is greatly influenced by genetics, wrong food choices too can trigger the above conditions, which in turn can cause Syndrome-X. Your chances depend on what you eat. Apart from the above-mentioned symptoms, Indians have thicker blood, which is prone to clot formation. As a result Indians are more prone to heart disease than other groups.

Diets high in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats like white flour (maida), white rice, processed foods, pizzas, burgers, French fries, cheesy pastas, sugar, soft drinks, high-fat pastries or snacks foods like samosas, white bread sandwiches, rich curry dishes with naan, puris, parathas, etc increase your chances of developing insulin resistance. In the Indian metros, one can easily fall prey to such foods and therefore acquire the risk of heart disease. The current trend of thriving on fast food provides a perfect environment to foster insulin resistance especially if you also have a genetic predisposition.