Randomised controlled trial: the role of diet and exercise in women with metabolic syndrome

Objective: To evaluate a program of nutritional recommendations and exercise in women with metabolic syndrome. Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial. Location: Primary Health Care, Holguin, Cuba. Participants: A cluster sample of 150 obese women with metabolic syndrome without glucose disturbances, were randomly assigned to a control (n = 70) or experimental (n = 80) group. A total of 62 women in the control group and 60 in the intervention group completed the study (June 2008-July 2009). Interventions: Low calorie diets and a program of exercises in the experimental group. Usual care in the control group. Measurements: Body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid profile. Results: Compared to the control group, after one year, the experimental group had a lower, diastolic blood pressure (78 +/- 0.9 vs 91 +/- 1.1 mm Hg), total cholesterol (4.7 +/- 0.1 vs 6.0 +/- 0.1 mmol/L), triglycerides (1.9 +/- 0.0 vs 2.9 +/- 0.1 mmol/L) and LDL cholesterol (2.5 +/- 0.0 vs 3.5 +/- 0.1 mmol/L), and a higher HDL-cholesterol (1.2 +/- 0.0 vs 1.1 +/- 0.0 mmol/L). There were no appreciable changes in weight, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure and blood glucose. Conclusions: We demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention program on blood pressure and blood lipid profile. (C) 2010 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.