Can Strength Training Protect You From Metabolic Syndrome?

Are you someone who is involved in strength training? Do you lift weights? If yes, then there is a good news, and that is, a study explains that strength training protects you from metabolic syndrome. Less than 9% of Americans lift weights. There are several health benefits of strength training and one of those being that people lifting weights are less likely to develop metabolic syndrome. Let us know about this in a better way.

Can Strength Training Protect You From Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is a condition that includes several risk factors linked with heart disease and diabetes. There are five risk factors that determine metabolic syndrome and those individuals having at least three of these indicator, are known to have the metabolic syndrome. The risk factors include:

  • Waist circumference being greater than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women
  • High levels of triglyceride
  • Reduced levels of HDL or good cholesterol.
  • High glucose levels
  • Elevated blood pressure.

Some studies suggest that strength training or lifting weights regularly can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. A recent study, from the Brooks College of Health, University of North Floride, Jacksonville, indicated that individuals who lift weights are less likely to develop metabolic syndrome. For this study, researchers analyzed data from the 1999-2005 National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a study of health risk factors. The responses to this survey were analyzed for seeing if there was a correlation between lifting weights or strength training and metabolic syndrome. About 5618 American adults provided their blood samples for the analysis.

Out of those, only 8.8% indicated that they lifted weights. The results of the study found that there was a lower occurrence of metabolic syndrome in the people who were lifting weights. Researchers thus concluded that exercise professionals should strongly encourage people of all ages for lifting weights or strength training, so as to avoid metabolic syndrome.

Both, strength training and also aerobic training when combined and done on a regular basis, it can help further reduce the chances of metabolic syndrome.

There is also one more new study by The Cooper Institute in Dallas, that included 7, 418 individuals of average 46 years and it was concluded that those who did strength training, seemed to have a protective effect against metabolic syndrome, less that one hour per week of strength training reduced the risk of metabolic syndrome significantly, and meeting both the resistance and aerobic training guidelines proved to be most effective and was associated with a 25% of lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion:

So, from above explanation or the recent studies, it can be said that strength training can protect you from metabolic syndrome. It is always good to take any sort of training under the supervision of a fitness expert.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:October 21, 2021

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