Issue 123 Item 6 Exercise Cuts Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Even in Low-Risk Men

Middle-aged men who get more than 3 hours of exercise each week are less likely to develop the metabolic syndrome. Dr. David E. Laaksonen, from the University of Kuopio in Finland, and colleagues note in the September issue of Diabetes Care that, while previous reports have touted exercise’s potential to reduce the severity of type 2 diabetes or heart disease, little evidence exists on whether physical activity prevents the metabolic syndrome that precedes these illnesses,.

To investigate, Dr. Laaksonen’s team followed a group of 612 healthy men, between the ages of 42 and 60 years, over a 4-year period. All of the men provided information about various lifestyle habits, including how often they exercised on a weekly basis.

At the end of the study period, 107 men were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. According to the report, these men had at least three of the following findings: abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose levels.

Men who exercised more than 3 hours per week were decreased their risk of developing the metabolic syndrome by about 50% compared with the men who exercised no more than 60 minutes per week.

"These findings…suggest that intervention at an early phase in even relatively low-risk men may dramatically reduce the risk for development or progression of metabolic disturbances that eventually culminate in chronic and progressive diseases such as diabetes" and atherosclerosis, Dr. Laaksonen and colleagues conclude. Diabetes Care 2002;25:1612-1618.