Positive impact of a 4-week duration supervised aerobic training on anthropometric, metabolic, hemodynamic and arterial wall parameters in metabolic syndrome subjects

Summary Objectives: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Physical inactivity is one of the main pathophysiological factors of MetS subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate if 4-week supervised aerobic training had any impact on anthropometric, metabolic, hemodynamic and arterial wall parameters in MetS subjects. Design and methods: 57 MetS subjects were randomly selected from a Lithuanian High Cardiovascular Risk (LitHiR) national primary prevention programme. Hemodynamic, cardiometabolic risk and arterial wall parameters were evaluated after the 4-week supervised aerobic training. Results: After 4 weeks of aerobic training there was statistically significant decrease in body mass index from 30.58 ± 3.7 to 30.3 ± 3.55 kg/m 2 ( p = 0.010), waist circumference from 104.24 ± 9.46 to 102.9 ± 9.48 cm ( p = 0.003), decrease of LDL cholesterol from 4.21 ± 1.15 to 3.78 ± 1 mmol/l ( p = 0.032) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein from 2.01 ± 2.36 to 1.64 ± 1.92 mg/l ( p = 0.009), decrease of diastolic blood pressure (BP) from 83.06 ± 10.18 to 80.38 ± 8.98 mmHg ( p = 0.015), mean BP from 100.03 ± 10.70 to 97.31 ± 8.88 mmHg ( p = 0.027) and aortic stiffness, assessed as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, from 8.34 ± 1.26 to 7.91 ± 1.15 m/s ( p = 0.034). Conclusions: In subjects with MetS even short-duration (4-week) supervised aerobic exercise training is associated with improvement of some anthropometric, metabolic and hemodynamic parameters as well as the decrease in aortic stiffness. This training modality could be recommended for initiation of physical training and could increase motivation for further physical activity.