Exercise and Metabolic Syndrome

By Ellie Sweum, PT

Gateau Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine

More Weight Control, Nutrition & Exercise Articles

Exercise and Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is the name for a collection of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk factors that increase your risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes. The most important risk factors for metabolic syndrome are extra weight around the waist or abdominal obesity (apple-shaped) and insulin resistance. Other risk factors include aging, hormonal changes, lack of exercise, and genetic predisposition.

Metabolic Syndrome is present if you have three or more of the following signs

Large waist circumference 40 inches or more (in men) or 35 inches or more (in women)

Triglyceride level of 150 or greater

HDL cholesterol of 40 or less (in men) or less than 50 (in women)

Systolic blood pressure (top number) of 130 or greater

Diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) of 85 or greater

Fasting glucose of 100 or greater

Some of the recommendations if you've been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome include weight loss (initially 7-10% of your current weight), lower your cholesterol, and lower your blood pressure.

Also, people who smoke should quit smoking.

Regular exercise will help with each of these recommendations. Exercise helps improve your cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Regular physical activity will make your heart stronger and more efficient, resulting in lower blood pressure and it will help control your blood sugar by improving insulin sensitivity. Regular exercise also helps achieve a healthy weight, therefore helping to prevent abdominal obesity; a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25 is recommended.

Membership in a Medically Oriented Gym (M.O.G.sm) is an excellent way to achieve these goals or prevent metabolic syndrome altogether. Each M.O.G. member receives a comprehensive assessment as part of their membership to provide data for development of an exercise program that is appropriate to that member. Each fitness assessment includes the following measurements waist circumference (to assess waist obesity), Body Mass Index (BMI) (to assess risk for disease based on height and weight), body fat percentage (to assess lean muscle mass vs. fat mass), and Vo2max testing (to assess aerobic capacity). After these values are collected, each member will have a custom exercise program developed to help them achieve their goals and address unhealthy assessment values. At each visit, the client will work with a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant to ensure that technique is correct and the client is progressing toward their goals. The fitness assessment values are re-assessed every 90 days and provided to the client and their doctor if desired. Group exercise classes are also offered and monthly educational events will be provided to promote healthier lifestyles.