Journal of Metabolic Syndrome

Supervised Physical Activity and Metabolic Syndrome Components of Women Assisted in Primary Health Care

Abstract

Hellen Tatiane de Pontes, Sara Pereira de Araujo, Cristiane Dias Corrêa, Paulo Alves Cerqueira, Natália Cristina de Oliveira and Leslie Andrews Portes

Objective: To assess the effects of a Physical Exercise Program (PEP) on the components of MetS in women assisted in a primary health care unit.
Methods: We conducted a 16-week lifestyle intervention study with physical activity for patients at high risk of developing MetS. 42 patients (21 with MetS and 21 controls) volunteered to take part in a Physical Exercise Program (PEP), a structured and supervised aerobic and resistance exercise program, 4 times/week, 60 minutes/session. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of MetS components, Framingham’s Cardiovascular Risk (CR), and physical fitness.
Results: MetS presented higher values of CR, Body Weight (BW), BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage (%BF), blood glucose, Triglycerides (TG) and VLDL-Cholesterol. Experimental group also brought up lower values of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1). After the PEP there was a decrease in the CR, in the prevalence of MetS components, BW, BMI, %BF, TG, and VLDL-C, resting blood pressure, increase in lean body mass, exercise heart rate, functional capacity, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max.), FVC, FEV1 and maximum voluntary ventilation.
Conclusion: Physical activity was successful in reducing the components of the MetS and CR, highlighting the potential of exercise in primary health care.