A sharply besuited young woman comes home and finds her dad downing a mug of beer in the kitchen, with an assortment of snacks on the table. She playfully warns him, pointing to his potbelly: "Oto-san (Daddy)! You're drinking again! You are eating too much, aren't you? Metaborikku Shindoromu (Metabolic Syndrome)!'
Father looks startled, and points to his round belly. "Metabo? You mean here? Is that the thing that's in vogue these days?"
Yes. In vogue. Big time. These days, not a single day goes by, it seems, without there being a fitness-club flier, a beverage ad or a new recipe that contains some mention of metabo, short for "metabolic syndrome."