Effect of a weight management program on the determinants and prevalence of metabolic syndrome

As prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (met synd) rises, establishing effective, community-based treatments is imperative. Our investigation sought to evaluate and report the effect of a weight management program on the prevalence and determinants of met synd, and the effect of participation level.

Between 10 July 2001 and 17 November 2005, 339 of 574 individuals enrolled in and completed our 6-month weight management program at the McConnell Heart Health Center in Columbus, Ohio. One hundred and sixty completers met our inclusion criteria for our retrospective analysis: (i) non diabetic, (ii) complete outcomes, (iii) no program participation in the previous 6 months. Met synd status was determined using AHA/NHLBI criteria. Blood pressure criterion was modified to a history of hypertension or current antihypertension medication use. Participation level was dichotomized as high participators (HP) and low participators (LP) using the number of center visits.

The entire cohort showed significant reductions in BMI, waist circumference and met synd prevalence (51-39%). The met synd group had significant improvements in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, and glucose. Compared with LP, HP had a significant reduction in the prevalence of met synd and significantly greater improvement in the anthropometric, HDL and triglyceride determinants of met synd.

This weight management program had a positive effect on determinants and prevalence of met synd. High participation levels were associated with significantly greater improvements in the anthropometric variables, HDL, triglycerides, met synd determinants, and reduction of met synd prevalence.