When Did You Last Check Your Blood Fats? Diabetes May Already Be Taking Hold

New Data Shows Fat Imbalance Often Appears Before Sugar Levels Go Up

November 16, 2025

A new nationwide health report has revealed something most people don’t see coming. The body begins to show early signs of diabetes long before sugar levels rise. These warning signs are not picked up during routine checks. They lie in fat imbalances in the blood, especially in younger adults who don’t feel sick and may not look unhealthy.

The findings come from Metropolis Healthcare, one of India’s largest diagnostic networks, which studied blood test results from over 390,000 (3.9 lakh) individuals across the country, as reported by The New Indian Express. Instead of focusing on sugar, the analysis looked at fats in the blood, especially HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. These are normally associated with heart health.

But this new reading of the data shows they are also some of the first signs that the body’s energy system is starting to malfunction, years before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed.

The most common problems found were low HDL and high triglyceride levels. HDL is known as “good cholesterol” because it helps clear other fats from the blood. Triglycerides are a type of fat that rises after we eat, especially after sugary, fried or processed foods. It also goes up if we eat large meals after long gaps.

According to the study, about 35 percent of the people had low HDL, and 33 percent had high triglycerides, both signs that fat metabolism is under stress and that insulin resistance may already be developing.

The body depends on insulin to move sugar from the blood into the cells. But when excess fats stay in the bloodstream for long periods, cells stop responding well to insulin. To compensate, the pancreas produces more insulin. This effort may continue silently for years, until the pancreas starts to wear out and blood sugar rises. By the time diabetes is diagnosed, much of the damage has already happened. In the meantime, the same fat imbalance also leads to inflammation, and fat begins to build up around the liver and abdominal organs, making the body’s systems even weaker.

This quiet breakdown is now being seen in people much younger than before. Many Indians in their 30s and 40s, some even younger, are showing these early blood fat changes, even though they have no symptoms and may not be overweight.

One of the most important findings of the study is that the problem is often invisible. These individuals look healthy and feel fine. But inside the body, trouble has already begun.

The data also show that men are more likely than women to be affected. Around 46.5 percent of men in the study had low HDL, and 37.5 percent had high triglycerides. Among women, 24.3 percent had low HDL, and 28.9 percent had high triglycerides. But across both groups, the signs were seen even in people with normal weight.

This means the usual visual cues no longer apply. Lifestyle factors, such as poor sleep, skipped meals, long working hours, stress and high intake of packaged or fried food, now play a much bigger role in early damage.

Doctors also look at a pattern called metabolic syndrome, a group of health problems that include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels and excess belly fat, which together increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and liver damage. These signs are all part of the body’s energy and fat regulation system. If it begins to fail, the risk of diabetes, fatty liver and heart disease rises quickly.

The findings from Metropolis are in line with international studies, which suggest that between 12.5 and 31.4 percent of adults worldwide may already meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome.

The situation is especially worrying in India, where the diabetes burden is rising fast. New estimates suggest that about 90 million Indian adults now live with diabetes. A large share of them have not been diagnosed or treated. Even more concerning is the growing number of young people developing the disease.

A nationwide screening found that almost 18 percent of Indians under 35 already have diabetes. The highest rates were seen in people in their early 30s.

Doctors warn that this earlier onset has serious consequences. A person diagnosed in their 30s may have to live with diabetes for decades, which increases the risk of long-term complications, including heart disease, kidney damage, nerve disorders and vision loss.

A simple lipid profile test, which checks for HDL, LDL and triglycerides, can show whether your body is under early stress. If you’re over 30, even if you feel healthy, it may be the most important test you haven’t taken yet.

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