{"id":585772,"date":"2026-08-07T07:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T07:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/585772\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T07:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T07:48:11","slug":"metabolic-syndrome-cardio-and-strength-training-may-best-reduce-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/585772\/","title":{"rendered":"Metabolic syndrome: Cardio and strength training may best reduce risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnShare on Pinterest<\/a>A mix of cardio and strength training may improve 6 key metabolic risk factors, a new study has found. Drs Producoes \/ Getty ImagesPrevious research suggests that people can manage metabolic syndrome by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as being physically active. A new study compared 10 types of exercise, including yoga, resistance training, and tai chi, to determine which was most effective for treating metabolic syndrome. The researchers found that the most effective type of exercise varies and depends on the specific areas of metabolic syndrome that people are looking to improve. <\/p>\n

Now, a new study published in the journal iScience<\/a> says that no single type of exercise is best for treating metabolic syndrome. <\/p>\n

Instead, scientists say, the most effective solution is to find exercises that treat the specific areas of metabolic syndrome you\u2019re looking to improve. <\/p>\n

For this study, researchers analyzed health data from six major medical databases for almost 3,000 participants from previous studies. <\/p>\n

Scientists focused on 10 specific exercises: <\/p>\n

combined aerobic<\/a> and resistance training<\/a>resistance training on its ownlow-intensity exercise training moderate-intensity exercise trainingmoderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise traininghigh-volume high-intensity interval training<\/a> (HV-HIIT)low-volume HIIT (LV-HIIT)HIIT combined with resistance trainingyoga<\/a>traditional Chinese exercise.<\/p>\n

Researchers examined how these different types of exercises impacted core markers of metabolic syndrome, including:<\/p>\n

\u201cSince \u2018exercise is medicine\u2019 was introduced, exercise has become widely accepted as an important way to improve health,\u201d Yaqi Xue<\/a>, PhD, a researcher in the College of Physical Education and Sports at Beijing Normal University in China and corresponding author of this study, told Medical News Today. \u201cHowever, metabolic syndrome is not a single health problem.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes several related conditions, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal blood lipids, and abdominal obesity,\u201d Xue continued. \u201cDifferent types of exercise may affect these conditions in different ways, but there is still limited evidence to help clinicians choose the most suitable exercise for each problem.\u201d <\/p>\n

At the study\u2019s conclusion, researchers found that no single exercise improved all aspects of metabolic syndrome at once. Instead, different exercises worked better for certain metabolic syndrome issues. <\/p>\n

The researchers found that: <\/p>\n

\u201cOur study suggests that no single type of exercise works best for every component of metabolic syndrome. Exercise should be introduced gradually and selected according to the individual\u2019s main metabolic problems, physical condition, and possible risks.\u201d
\u2014 Yaqi Xue, PhD<\/p>\n

\u201cNext, we hope to examine how different doses of exercise affect these outcomes and use this information to support more precise exercise prescriptions,\u201d Xue said.<\/p>\n

MNT spoke with Craig Basman<\/a>, MD, FACC, FSCAI, associate director of the Structural & Congenital Heart Program at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study, who commented that it\u2019s a highly practical and refreshing piece of research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn cardiology, we frequently tell patients with metabolic syndrome they need to \u2018exercise more,\u2019 but metabolic syndrome is a complex cluster of conditions \u2014 obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and abnormal cholesterol,\u201d Basman, who was not involved in this study, explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study confirms that not all exercise affects these specific risks equally, giving us an evidence-based roadmap to move away from a generic, one-size-fits-all recommendation toward highly personalized exercise prescriptions.\u201d
\u2014 Craig Basman, MD, FACC, FSCAI<\/p>\n

MNT also spoke with Mir Ali<\/a>, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who agreed. <\/p>\n

\u201c[This] is in line with my own experience \u2014 there\u2019s no one exercise that\u2019s perfect for everybody,\u201d Ali, who likewise was not involved in this study, explained. \u201cAnd so whatever exercise regimen, they have to individualize it depending on the patient, their age, their mobility level, the underlying factors that we\u2019re trying to address. So it\u2019s a good study at a lot of different controlled trials.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help people figure out the best workouts for them when tackling certain aspects of metabolic syndrome, Basman said this study\u2019s biggest takeaway is to tailor your workout to your specific health data. <\/p>\n

Once you know your primary metabolic risk factors from your primary care doctor or cardiologist, he explained, you can choose the most effective modality:<\/p>\n

For weight, waist size, and blood sugar, a combination of aerobic and resistance training (AT + RT) is your best approachFor reducing body fat percentage, High-volume high-intensity interval training (HV-HIIT) yields the best resultsFor high blood pressure and low \u201cgood\u201d HDL cholesterol, traditional Chinese exercises, like tai chi<\/a> and qigong<\/a>, actually showed the most significant benefitsFor high triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, low-volume HIIT is the most effective.<\/p>\n

Ali added that regular exercise is key. \u201cI advise my patients to just be consistent with exercise, being able to find something that can be done at least five days a week for 30 minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s most effective if you\u2019re consistent.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMetabolic syndrome drastically increases a person\u2019s risk of severe cardiovascular events, including heart attacks<\/a>, heart failure<\/a>, and strokes<\/a>. Clinically, it often leads to polypharmacy, where patients end up on a cascade of medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.\u201d
\u2014 Craig Basman, MD, FACC, FSCAI<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding accessible, lifestyle-driven therapies is crucial because it empowers patients and targets the root causes \u2014 such as visceral fat<\/a> and insulin resistance<\/a> \u2014 simultaneously and without the side effects of multiple medications,\u201d Basman added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share on PinterestA mix of cardio and strength training may improve 6 key metabolic risk factors, a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[499,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-585772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}