Healthy Promotion for Fighting Metabolic Syndrome: Insights from Multi-Center HeRO-FiT Cohort.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether combining diet and exercise (including walking) could improve metabolic syndrome (MS) markers compared to diet alone.
Results Summary
The study found that combining diet and exercise (including walking) led to statistically significant improvements in heart rate, blood pressure, BMI, blood tests, and walking test performance, while diet alone only improved waist circumference and waist-hip ratio.
Population
100 volunteers with metabolic syndrome (no overt CVD or diabetes) meeting NCEP/ATP criteria.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
6 months
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
diet suggestions | decrease | waist circumference | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | caused significant changes | #1 |
diet suggestions | decrease | waist hip ratio | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | caused significant changes | #2 |
exercise and diet prescription | decrease | heart rate | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | revealed a statistically significant improvement | #3 |
exercise and diet prescription | decrease | blood pressure | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | revealed a statistically significant improvement | #4 |
exercise and diet prescription | decrease | body mass index | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | revealed a statistically significant improvement | #5 |
exercise and diet prescription | improvement | blood samplings | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | revealed a statistically significant improvement | #6 |
exercise and diet prescription | increase | six-minute walking test | subjects with metabolic syndrome | - | revealed a statistically significant improvement | #7 |
We know that metabolic syndrome (MS) is a modern cardiovascular (CV) "epidemic", especially in western populations. MS is indeed strictly related to the risk of developing CV diseases (CVD) and/or diabetes. Therefore, the aim of our multi-center study was to promote a "healthy style" for fighting MS. Each participating center analyzed its own database of outpatients and globally we have pulled out 100 volunteers to participate in the study. Before starting, we collected their written consent. Enrolled subjects have not any history of overt CVD and/or diabetes, but they matched National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP/ATP) criteria for MS. After enrolment (t0), subjects were randomly divided into two homogeneous groups: a) only diet suggestions; b) both diet and exercise prescription. Later, we measured for each subject: blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist hip ratio (WHR), six-minute walking test (WT6M), distance and common blood tests such as fasting plasma glucose, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and triglycerides (T1 assessments). At six months (T2), the same parameters were measured and then statistical comparisons were performed. Attention to diet caused significant changes only in WC and WHR, whilst a coupling of exercise and diet revealed a statistically significant improvement in HR, BP, BMI, blood samplings and WT6M too. In conclusion, a healthy lifestyle should be more encouraged by physicians and/or collaborators (such as dieticians) operating in preventive settings. Diet and physical activity may be early useful strategies in the "battle" against MS even before any medication choices. Further studies will be necessary in order to better address the topic.