Combined diet and exercise intervention reverses the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged males: results from the oslo diet and exercise study
Scand J Med Sci Sports 2007: 17: 687-695
Printed in Singapore. All rights reserved
Journal compilation & 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard
Combined diet and exercise intervention reverses the metabolicsyndrome in middle-aged males: results from the Oslo Diet andExercise Study
S. A. Anderssen1, S. Carroll2, P. Urdal3, I. Holme1,4
1Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway, 2Department of Sport, Health & ExerciseScience, Faculty of Applied Science & Technology, The University of Hull, Hull, UK, 3Department of Clinical Chemistry, UllevaalUniversity Hospital, Oslo, Norway, 4Centre of Preventive Medicine, Department of Preventive Cardiology, Ullevaal UniversityHospital, Oslo, NorwayCorresponding author: Sigmund A. Anderssen, Department of Sports Medicine, The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences,Sognsveien 220, Mail box 4014, Ulleva˚l Stadion; 0806 Oslo, Norway. Tel: 47-23262301; Fax: 47-22234220, E-mail:Sigmund.Anderssen@nih.no
We examined the single and combined effects of a 1-year
syndrome after 1-year intervention. In the diet-only group,
diet and exercise intervention on the International Diabetes
22 participants (64.7%) (P 5 0.023 vs control) and in the
Federation (IDF) metabolic syndrome among middle-aged
exercise-only group 26 participants (76.5%) (P 5 0.23 vs
males. The study was a randomized, controlled, 2 Â 2
control) had the metabolic syndrome following the interven-
factorial intervention study. Participants included 137 men
tion. Utilizing the factorial design, both dietary and exercise
with metabolic syndrome according to the IDF criteria aged
intervention had significant effects (Po0.005) on the reso-
40-49 years randomly allocated to four intervention groups:
lution of the metabolic syndrome. Both exercise and dietary
diet alone (n 5 34), exercise alone (n 5 34), the combination
intervention reduced metabolic syndrome prevalence com-
of the diet and exercise intervention (n 5 43) or control
pared with control after 1 year of intervention. However, the
(n 5 26). The main outcome measure was metabolic syn-
combined diet and exercise intervention was significantly
drome as defined by IDF criteria (2005). In the combined
more effective than diet or exercise alone in the treatment of
(Po0.0001 as compared with control) had the metabolic
The metabolic syndrome has been a variably defined
diabetes and reinforcing lifestyle modification within
clustering of several cardiovascular disease (CVD)
a multiple risk factor therapeutic strategy (Grundy,
risk factors (Alberti & Zimmet, 1998; Balkau et al.,
2006b). Indeed, Grundy (2006a) restates that the
2002); National Cholesterol Education Program
primary reason why the NCEP ATP III introduced
Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III, 2001).
the metabolic syndrome into its clinical guidelines
Insulin resistance, impaired glucose regulation, hy-
was to emphasize the importance of lifestyle therapy
pertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia are core meta-
in clinical practice (Grundy, 2006a). Healthy lifestyle
bolic syndrome components, independent of the
promotion was also proposed as the ''primary inter-
parent organization definition (Fulop et al., 2006).
vention'' and ''best first-line treatment'' within the
Clustering of metabolic risk factors in individuals has
IDF guidelines (Alberti et al., 2005; Grundy et al.,
been associated with increased risk of development
2005; Alberti et al., 2006). Moderate calorie restric-
of diabetes (Laaksonen et al., 2002a; Sattar et al.,
tion and changes in physical activity and dietary
2003), CVD, and premature death (Isomaa et al.,
composition have been emphasized as primary man-
2001; Lakka et al., 2002; Sattar et al., 2003). A
consensus worldwide clinically useful definition of
The results from the Diabetes Prevention Program
the metabolic syndrome has recently been recom-
Research Group (DPPR) and Finnish Diabetes Pre-
mended by the International Diabetes Federation
vention studies have shown the marked clinical
benefits of intensive lifestyle intervention on both
Metabolic syndrome diagnosis has been proposed
the resolution of the metabolic syndrome (Orchard
as being clinically useful to identify patients who are
et al., 2005) and risk of diabetes and among indivi-
at a higher lifetime risk of both CVD and type 2
duals with glucose intolerance (Tuomilehto et al.,
2001; Knowler et al., 2002). In these studies, lifestyle
intervention involved concurrent changes in dietary
According to the worldwide definition by IDF (Alberti et al.,
and physical activity habits, with one study particu-
2005), men have the metabolic syndrome if the following
larly emphasizing weight loss (Hamman et al., 2006).
However, the studies did not randomly assign differ-
Central obesity: waist circumference 494 cm for Eur-
ent components of the lifestyle interventions. Other
studies have examined the specific effects of a Med-
Plus any two of the following four components:
iterranean-style diet alone (Azadbakht et al., 2005) orwithin a combined lifestyle modification approach
Raised triglyceride level: ! 1.7 mmol/L or treatment for
(Esposito et al., 2004) on the metabolic syndrome.
Additional investigations have focused solely on the
Reduced HDL cholesterol: o1.03 mmol/L or treatment for
effects of structured exercise training (Katzmarzyk
et al., 2003; Stewart et al., 2005). To our knowledge,
Raised blood pressure: systolic BP ! 130 or diastolic
BP ! 85 mmHg or antihypertensive medication; or
however, there is a lack of controlled interven-tion trials that have been published concerning the
Raised fasting plasma glucose ( ! 5.6 mmol/L) or pre-
efficacy of the single and combined effects of dietand exercise for treating the metabolic syndrome. The Oslo Diet and Exercise Study (ODES) wasoriginally designed to study the single and combined
effects of diet and exercise upon a broad spectrum of
Dietary counseling was given together with the spouse at the
CVD risk among persons with clustering of CVD
start, and then to the participants alone after 3 and 9 months. The advice was individualized and adapted according to each
risk factors (Anderssen et al., 1995). The aim of this
person's dietary history and risk profile (estimated from total
paper was to examine the single and combined effects
cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, and body
of a 1-year diet and exercise intervention within
weight). The intervention focused primarily on energy restric-
ODES participants meeting the IDF metabolic syn-
tion in those who were overweight. Fish and fish products, and
reduced intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, were recom-mended to all participants, but especially to those whoseelevated total cholesterol was the more important componentof the risk profile. In order to assess dietary compliance, eachparticipant responded to a 180-item food frequency question-
naire (Solvoll et al., 1993). Smoking habits were recorded by a
questionnaire as well as estimated through serum thiocyanateconcentration.
Data were retrieved from ODES, a randomized 2 Â 2 factorial
The exercise program entailed supervised endurance-based
trial of 1-year duration for each participant (The ODES
exercise, such as aerobics, circuit training, and fast walking/
investigators, 1993). The participants were recruited from a
jogging, three times per week. The duration of each workout
continuous ongoing screening examination for all 40-year-old
was 60 min. The intensity of the training was 60-80% of the
persons in Oslo in the period 1990-1991. The ODES inclusion
participant's individual peak heart rate as measured by a tread-
criteria were as follows: physically inactive (exercising at most
mill test at baseline. The exercise group and combined diet and
once per week), body mass index (BMI) 424 (kg/m2),
exercise group intermingled during supervised training sessions.
diastolic blood pressure 86-99 mmHg, total serum cholesterol
The attendance of each workout was recorded, as was additional
5.2-7.7 mmol/L, HDL o1.20 mmol/L and fasting serum tri-
physical activity performed by some participants. A Polar
glycerides 41.4 mmol/L. Those with CVD, diabetes or other
Sportstester heart rate recorder (Polar Electro OY, Kempele,
diseases, or those using drugs that could interfere with the test
Finland) was used to measure training intensity. Participants in
results were excluded. A detailed description of the recruit-
the control group were told not to change their lifestyle during
ment of the 209 participants (21 females) within the ODES has
the trial, but as all the other participants, they were advised
been reported previously (The ODES investigators, 1993). The
against smoking. At randomization, the control group partici-
data for the present study are based on a retrospective
pants were told that after the 1-year trial period, they would be
examination of 188 men who were randomly allocated into
offered dietary advice and supervised physical training.
one of four intervention groups: diet alone (n 5 45), exercisealone (n 5 48), combinations of diet and exercise intervention(n 5 58) or control (n 5 37). A pre-randomized sequence of the
four possible intervention groups was prepared using simplerandomization without blocking. There was a 13% probabil-
Each participant was examined for CVD risk factors, dietary
ity of obtaining this distribution or a more extreme one, given
habits, and maximal oxygen uptake before and after the 1-year
equal allocation probabilities to the four groups. Of the 188
of intervention. Blood samples were collected after a 10-min
men who met the original ODES study inclusion criteria, 137
recumbence between 08.00 and 10.00 hours after an overnight
satisfied the IDF criteria for the metabolic syndrome. These
fast and abstinence from smoking. Furthermore, the partici-
men had been randomly allocated to the intervention groups
pants were told to abstain from vigorous exercise for 4 days
as follows: diet alone (n 5 34), exercise alone (n 5 34), combi-
before blood sampling. The components were analyzed batch
nations of diet and exercise intervention (n 5 43) or control
wise from frozen samples at the end of the trial. Insulin was
(n 5 26). A written declaration of informed consent was signed
measured by a radioimmunoassay (Linco Research, St
before the randomization took place. The study was approved
Charles, Missouri, USA) before and 60 min after a standard
oral glucose load of 75 g. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, and
HDL were analyzed using enzymatic methods (Anderssen
Table 1. Baseline values (SD) in all participants classified as having the
metabolic syndrome according to the IDF criteria (n 5 137)
Blood pressure was measured in the supine position after a
10-min rest in a quiet room at a room temperature of 22 1C.
Three recordings were made at 1-min intervals with automaticequipment (Vita-Stat blood pressure monitor; VitaStat Med-
ical Services Inc., Bellevue, Washington, USA), and the mean
of the last two measurements was used for statistical analysis.
Participants wore only underclothes when body weight,
height, and waist circumference measurements were per-
formed. Body weight was measured by using a Lindel balance
scale (Samhald, Klippan Sweden). Waist circumference was
measured while standing at the umbilical level. Two record-
ings were made, and the mean of the two was used in the
analysis. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms dividedby the square of height in meters (kg/m2).
IDF, International Diabetes Federation; BMI, body mass index.
Cardio-respiratory fitness was measured during a maximal
exercise test on a treadmill according to a modified Balkeprotocol (Balke, 1954) after a 15-min warmup. The test wasended when the participants were close to exhaustion accord-
The mean total energy intake (based on the food
ing to the Borg scale (Borg, 1970) (above 18) and/or when the
frequency questionnaire) was decreased in the diet
increase in oxygen uptake with increasing workload was
group and in the combined diet1exercise group
leveling off with a respiratory exchange ratio above 1.05. Expired air was analyzed using an MMC Horizon System
compared with the control and the exercise groups
(SensorMedics, Yorba Linda, California, USA).
(Table 2). Also, the composition of the diet changedin those who received dietary counseling, with asignificant decrease in total fat intake in conjunction
with increased polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acidsratio compared with control and exercise-only
The response to intervention was measured as the differencebetween the starting and the final value for all variables (year
groups. No significant changes in any of the mea-
1-year 0). The results were analyzed according to the inten-
sured dietary variables took place in the control or
tion-to-treat principle. Testing of, and confidence intervals
the exercise-only group. The combined group did not
(CIs), for between-intervention group contrasts for continu-
adhere better to the dietary advice than the diet-alone
ous variables were performed by Student's t-method. Differ-
group, nor did this group adhere better to the
ences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome at 1-year weretested using w2 tests. Odds ratios for the relationship between
exercise intervention than the exercise-alone group.
1-year changes in lifestyle-related variables (cardio-respiratory
There were no statistically significant differences in
fitness and selected dietary variables) and resolution of the
smoking habits between either of the groups assessed
metabolic syndrome were calculated using logistic regression.
by questionnaire or as estimated from serum thio-
Interaction between diet and exercise was tested by including
terms for diet, exercise and the combined cross-product termbetween the two in the model. All analyses were conducted
Figure 1 shows the percentage of individuals not
using SPSS statistical software (version 13.0, SPSS Inc.,
having the metabolic syndrome after the 1-year
intervention period. There was a significant differ-ence between intervention groups with respect to theprevalence of metabolic syndrome at 1-year follow-
up (Po0.0001). The diet1exercise group had aprevalence of 32.6% as compared with 88.5% in
Table 1 displays the baseline data of the 137 parti-
the control group (Po0.0001). Also, the diet-only
cipants classified as having the metabolic syndrome.
group with a prevalence of 64.7% was reduced vs
There was no difference between the intervention
control (P 5 0.037). In contrast, the exercise-only
groups at baseline in any of the variables.
group with a prevalence of 76.5% did not differ
Table 2 gives the adherence to the lifestyle pro-
significantly from control (P 5 0.23). The combined
gram. The average exercise adherence was 61.3% in
diet and exercise interventions were significantly
the exercise and 64.7% in the combined group. This
more effective in the treatment of metabolic syn-
corresponds to an average of 110 and 116 min of
drome compared with diet (Po0.006) and exercise
exercise per week throughout the year, respectively.
alone (Po0.001). As no interaction (P 5 0.59) be-
Cardio-respiratory fitness increased significantly in
tween interventions was found for any variable, the
the exercise groups compared with the control and
factorial design was used to compare the effect of diet
diet-only group. The net change in percent vs control
and exercise separately. In the comparison of diet vs
was 20.4% in the combined group and 15.0% in the
no diet and exercise vs no exercise, the effect on
exercise-only group. The diet-only and control group
metabolic syndrome regression was statistically
did not change their physical activity habits.
highly significant (Po0.005; Fig. 2).
Table 2. Baseline values of and changes in physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, body weight, dietary specific variables, and serum thiocyanate after1 year [year 1-year 0, mean (SE)]
p/s, polyunsaturated/saturated. aPo0.05 compared with control. bPo0.05 compared with diet. cPo0.05 compared with the exercise group.
following adjustment for changes in body weight[odds ratio 1.18 95% CI 5 1.04-1.35; P 5 0.011].
Changes in different dietary factors were also sig-nificantly associated with the reversal of the meta-
bolic syndrome (Table 3), but were attenuated when
adjusted for changes in body weight.
In this study, we examined the single and combinedeffects of a 1-year diet and physical activity interven-
Fig. 1. Percentage reduction of participants not having the
tion on the treatment of the metabolic syndrome.
metabolic syndrome after a 1-year intervention (Po0001
Our findings extend existing data by demonstrating
diet1exercise as compared with control; P 5 0.023 diet onlyas compared with control; P 5 0.23 exercise only as com-
in a randomized-controlled trial that lifestyle changes
pared with controls.) The combined diet and exercise group
in diet and physical activity habits have a substantial
compared with diet only (Po0.006) and exercise only
effect on the reversal of metabolic syndrome in men
as defined by IDF. The two intervention modalitiesseemed to have direct additive effects on the resolu-
Figure 3 gives the 1-year net changes in percent of
tion of the metabolic syndrome. Furthermore,
subjects in each intervention group below the cut
changes in body weight and cardio-respiratory fitness
point with respect to each variable in the IDF
appeared to be important factors mediating the
definition. All participants were above the waist
change in metabolic syndrome components.
circumference criterion of 94 cm at baseline. For
In observational studies, it has been shown that
each variable, with the exception of systolic blood
physical activity (Laaksonen et al., 2002b) or physi-
pressure, the combined intervention group exhibited
cal fitness (LaMonte et al., 2005) is inversely asso-
the largest change. Also, in the combined group, all
ciated with the incidence of metabolic syndrome
variables included in the metabolic syndrome, except
using either WHO or ATP III definitions. There
fasting glucose, changed significantly compared with
are, however, few studies in the literature that have
reported on the single or combined effect of diet and
Logistic regression analyses (Table 3) examining
physical activity on the prevention of metabolic
the relationship between changes in cardio-respira-
syndrome. Katzmarzyk et al. (2003) found that
tory fitness and reversal of the metabolic syndrome
30.5% of the participants were no longer classified
gave a significant odds ratio of 1.32. Thus, the
as having the metabolic syndrome (using the ATP III
likelihood of reversal of metabolic syndrome com-
criteria) following 20 weeks of aerobic exercise inter-
pared with having the metabolic syndrome is 32%
vention. However, this study is limited by the fact
for a 1 U improvement of cardio-respiratory fitness
that there was no control group and therefore the
(mL/kg/min). This relationship remained significant
authors could not control for the regression toward
Fig. 2. Percentage reduction of participants not having the metabolic syndrome after a 1-year intervention using the 2 Â 2factorial design. The left panel displays comparison physical activity vs no physical activity (Po0.005). The right panel displayscomparison diet vs no diet (Po0.005).
Fig. 3. One year net changes in the prevalence of separate IDF metabolic syndrome components among participants bytreatment group. WC, waist circumference; TG, triglycerides; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure;Gluc, glucose.
Table 3. OR and 95% CI for the relationship between 1-year changes in cardio-respiratory fitness and selected dietary variables and reversal of themetabolic syndrome
OR (95% CI) adjusted forchanges in body weight
The OR corresponds to a 1 U change in cardio-respiratory fitness or dietary variables, except the p/s fatty acids ratio, where the OR corresponds to a 0.1 Uchange. Adjusted and unadjusted for changes in body weight. OR, odds ratios; CI, confidence interval; p/s, polyunsaturated/saturated.
the mean. Stewart et al. (2005) evaluated the effects
and eight controls (15.1%) no longer exhibited the
of 6 months of exercise training (aerobic and resis-
tance exercise) in older men and women (55-75
Both short- (Roberts et al., 2006) and longer-term
years) with untreated mild hypertension (Stewart
(Muzio et al., 2005) uncontrolled studies have shown
et al., 2005). At baseline, 42.3% of participants had
reversal of the metabolic syndrome among obese
metabolic syndrome by ATP III criteria. Following 6
adults with combined diet and physical activity
months of exercise training, nine exercisers (17.7%)
interventions, but differ regarding the independent
effect of weight reduction. Moreover, Esposito
III metabolic syndrome compared with placebo. In
et al. (2004) randomized 180 patients (99 men and
this study, 18% of the placebo group and 38% of the
81 women) with the metabolic syndrome (as defined
lifestyle intervention group no longer had the syn-
by ATP III) to a Mediterranean-style dietary inter-
drome after 3 years (Orchard et al., 2005). The effect
vention group, or to a control group. Following 2
of lifestyle on the reduction of the overall prevalence
years of intervention, body weight decreased signifi-
of the metabolic syndrome was reported to be most
cantly more in patients in the intervention group
strongly related to a reduction in the proportion of
( À 4.0 kg) than in those in the control group
participants exceeding waist circumference and
( À 1.2 kg). The level of physical activity increased
blood pressure thresholds and not, by comparison,
comparably in both groups. Following completion of
the criteria for lipid abnormalities of triglycerides
the study, 44% of participants in the intervention
group continued to exhibit the metabolic syndrome
Furthermore, randomized-controlled intervention
compared with 87% in the control. The dietary
studies have shown that a shift to a healthy diet (with
changes were also associated with improvement of
about 30% energy derived from fat, and rich in fruit
endothelial function and a significant reduction of
and vegetables and wholegrain cereal products), in
markers of systemic vascular inflammation. The fact
combination with regular physical activity, can re-
that participants in both groups received guidance on
duce the risk of diabetes by almost 60% in indivi-
increasing their level of physical activity makes it
duals with impaired glucose tolerance (Pan et al.,
difficult to separate the effects of different lifestyle
1997; Tuomilehto et al., 2001; Knowler et al., 2002).
changes. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome has
Interestingly, a subsequent analysis of the DPPRG
also been shown to decrease significantly following
study has identified a clustering of behavioral (diet-
the DASH dietary intervention compared with
ary and activity) changes within the intervention
weight reduction and control diets (Azadbakht
group, with participants adherent to one aspect of
et al., 2005). In that study, the prevalence of the
the lifestyle changes more likely to adhere to other
metabolic syndrome after 6 months was 81% with a
aspects (The Diabetes Prevention Program Research
low-calorie diet, 65% with the DASH diet and
Group, 2004). Our study adds to the knowledge in
this field showing that such combined lifestyle
It has previously been shown that increases in
changes are also more effective in treating persons
physical activity or changes in dietary habits improve
single risk factors included in the metabolic syn-
In order to evaluate which lifestyle variables con-
drome and potential underlying etiological factors,
tributed statistically to the reversal of the metabolic
such as abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance
syndrome, we calculated the odds ratios of metabolic
(Ross et al., 2000; Janssen et al., 2002). The dietary
syndrome according to the degree of changes in
and exercise interventions in the present study ap-
lifestyle variables considered as important. Changes
peared to have independent and additive effects in
in cardio-respiratory fitness were shown to be a
resolving several metabolic syndrome components.
highly significant mediator even after adjustment
Other randomized studies conducted among seden-
for changes in body weight. Further adjustment of
tary, overweight/obese non-diabetic adults have
the analyses for changes in body weight may be an
shown independent and occasionally additive effects
over-correction as the fitness measure is normally
of dietary and exercise changes on components of the
expressed relative to body weight. Our finding that
metabolic syndrome. Dietary modification (including
cardio-respiratory fitness changes were strongly con-
energy restriction) and vigorous exercise most often
nected to metabolic syndrome is in line with observa-
have additive effects on fasting and insulin response
tional studies (LaMonte et al., 2005). Weight loss was
to OGTT (Anderssen et al., 1996; Dengel et al., 1998;
the dominant predictor of reduced diabetes incidence
Watkins et al., 2003) and blood pressure (Cox et al.,
in the intervention arm of the DPPRG study, ad-
1996). The addition of exercise to a hypo-caloric,
justed for changes in diet and physical activity
reduced-fat diet improves high-density lipoprotein-
(Hamman et al., 2006). In the present study, essential
cholesterol and triglycerides in men and women with
dietary variables did not have any independent im-
relatively normal baseline lipoprotein-lipid levels
pact when adjusted for changes in body weight. In
(Stefanick, 1999), with less consistent effects in obese,
contrast to these findings, post-hoc analysis of a
hypertensives with metabolic syndrome characteris-
randomized study showed that the relative reduction
tics (Watkins et al., 2003) and other dyslipidemic
in the metabolic syndrome associated with the
states (Wood et al., 1991; Stefanick et al., 1998).
DASH diet was not due to weight loss alone (Azad-
Within a secondary analysis of the Diabetes Pre-
bakht et al., 2005). Dietary fat, saturated fat, and
vention Program Research Group (DPPRG) study,
fiber intake were also shown to be significant pre-
lifestyle intervention showed a significant effect on
dictors of progression to type 2 diabetes in the
the cumulative incidence of the resolution of the ATP
Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study participants,
even after adjustment for intervention assignment,
circumference. Whether dietary modification to-
weight and weight change, physical activity and
gether with regular exercise will reduce CVD out-
baseline intake of the nutrient being investigated
comes among persons with the metabolic syndrome
has not been adequately tested in controlled clinical
We have shown that 1-year changes in diet and
trials. Nonetheless, epidemiological data are suppor-
structured supervised exercise have a profound effect
tive (Katzmarzyk et al., 2004), and the favorable
on the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. Nota-
effects on the metabolic syndrome provide strong
bly, in the combined diet and exercise intervention
support and justification for their recommendation
group, the net reduction compared with control was
an impressive 56.0%. The beneficial effect of lifestyleintervention on all metabolic syndrome components(except for fasting glucose level) is particularly en-
couraging and provides important evidence of the
It is estimated that up to 30% of the adult population
value of a combined lifestyle approach to persons
in the Westernized society has several features of the
with multiple metabolic risk factors.
metabolic syndrome, and increased long-term risk of
There are proponents (Grundy, 2006c) and skep-
CVD and diabetes (Isomaa et al., 2001; Lakka et al.,
tics (Kahn et al., 2005) concerning the metabolic
2002; Sattar et al., 2003; Wannamethee et al., 2005;
syndrome and its diagnostic utility. Furthermore,
Wilson et al., 2005; Sundstrom et al., 2006). Preva-
debate continues concerning the underlying patho-
lence increases with increasing age and in overweight
genesis and heterogeneity in the clinical expression of
and obese persons. Dietary modification and in-
the syndrome. Nevertheless, it is our opinion that
creased exercise in combination has a profound effect
diagnosing the IDF metabolic syndrome is a clini-
on the reversal of metabolic syndrome. Moderate
cally simple, but meaningful method of identifying
improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness and
persons at a higher lifetime risk for both diabetes and
weight loss seemed to be key intermediatory factors
CVD. A high lifetime risk consistently indicates the
in the success of the intervention. Clinicians and their
need for lifestyle modification and may minimize the
associates should be more anxious to advise their
need for poly-pharmacy to treat the metabolic syn-
patients to increase their physical activity and im-
prove their dietary habits in the treatment of meta-
Additional studies are needed to verify our lifestyle
intervention findings in older and younger subjectsand females, given the age-specific and sex differences
Key words: physical activity, nutrition, cardio-respira-
in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and
separate components (Orchard et al., 2005). Central(abdominal) obesity has been placed in pivotal posi-tion within the IDF definition. It should be notedthat the alternative WHO and ATP III metabolic
syndrome criteria have different thresholds for ab-
This study was supported by a grant from the Research
dominal obesity and HDL level for each sex. The
Council of Norway, The Norwegian Council of Cardiovascu-
IDF (2005) used the same approach by maintaining
lar Diseases and the Department of Sports Medicine, Norwe-
ATP III thresholds for all measures except waist
diagnosis and classification of diabetes
A, Azizi T, Azizi F. Beneficial effects of
randomized intervention trial; effect on
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stroke, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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