Similar effects of three endurance exercise protocols in women with metabolic syndrome: Interest of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training with a pedometer

Summary Objectives The aim of this study was to show the effects of different intensities and durations of aerobic exercise on weight, abdominal obesity, metabolic, and hormonal responses in women with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Equipment and methods Sixty women with MetS were randomly assigned to one of the three training groups: high-intensity exercise group (HIE) (n = 20), moderate-intensity exercise group (MIE) (n = 20) and moderate-intensity pedometer group (ECE PEDO) (n = 20). HIE group exercised 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week at %70 VO2max, while MIE and ECE PEDO groups exercised 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day at %50 VO2max. The primary outcome measures were anthropometric measurements including abdominal fat, VO2max measurements, lipid profile, adrenaline, noradrenaline, free fatty acids (FFA), glycerol, and oxyntomodulin parameter. Results A total of 51 women completed the 12-week exercise program. Anthropometric measurements such as weight, BMI, waist circumference (WC), visceral fat (VF) and trunk fat percentage were all decreased significantly at week 12 in all groups (P   0.05). Conclusion Moderate aerobic exercises performed 5 days a week as supervised treadmill exercise or home-based pedometer walking were not significantly different from high-intensity supervised treadmill exercise made 3 days a week for weight, VF, exercise capacity and metabolic parameters in women with MetS. Increasing oxyntomodulin levels with moderate-intensity exercise may have beneficial metabolic effects in patients with MetS. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number NCT03445741 .