Metabolic Syndrome, Hormones, and Exercise

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension) that are linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Regular exercise training can counterbalance the detrimental effects of the metabolic syndrome by inducing neurohumoral and vascular modifications. Aerobic exercise, resistance training, and their combination are effective for improving hyperglycemia, upregulating skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, and reducing blood pressure. To maximize benefits, exercise should be performed preferably in all days of the week, at moderate to high intensity (as tolerated, depending on existing comorbidities in individuals), with 30–60 minutes of continuous or accumulated exercise per day. As individuals with the metabolic syndrome often display suboptimal physiological responses to acute exercise stimuli due to hormonal disturbances and vascular dysfunction, individualized exercise prescription and patient-tailored selection of activities and diet are key components for the management of the metabolic syndrome.