Effects of a 12-month Physical Activity Intervention on Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Men and Women

Background: There is a lack of information on whether exercise training alone can reduce the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in elderly men and women.

Methods: This study was an ancillary to the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot Study, a four-site, single-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial comparing a 12-month physical activity (PA) intervention (N = 180) with a successful aging intervention (N = 181) in elderly (70-89 years) community-dwelling men and women at risk for physical disability. The PA intervention included aerobic, strength, and flexibility exercises, with walking as the primary mode. MetS was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria.

Results: There was no significant change in body weight or fat mass after either intervention. The trend of MetS prevalence over the intervention period was similar between PA and successful aging groups (p = .77). Overall, the prevalence of MetS decreased significantly from baseline to 6 months (p = .003) but did not change further from 6- to 12-month visits (p = .11). There were no group differences in any individual MetS components (p > .05 for all group by visit interactions). However, in individuals not using medications at any visit to treat MetS components, those in the PA intervention had lower odds of having MetS than those in the successful aging group during follow-up (odds ratio = 0.28, 95% confidence interval = 0.08-0.96).

Conclusions: In this sample, a 12-month PA intervention did not reduce the prevalence of MetS more than a successful aging intervention, perhaps due to the large proportion of individuals taking medications for treating MetS components.