Effect of an intensive lifestyle intervention on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components among overweight and obese adults

Background Despite the fact that up to a third of the global population has metabolic syndrome (MetS), it has been overlooked in clinical settings. This study assesses the impact of a physician-supervised nonsurgical weight management program on the prevalence of MetS and its key indicators. Methods Four-hundred seventy-nine overweight and obese participants aged 19 years or older were included in a prospective longitudinal study. Changes in MetS and its key indicators were assessed using the binomial exact, chi-square and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests in an intent-to-treat study population. Differences in age strata were assessed using a generalized linear model. Results Fifty-two percent of participants (n = 249) had MetS at baseline. Prevalence of MetS decreased steadily with significant changes from baseline observed at weeks 13 (31.8%, P < 0.0001), 26 (28.7%, P < 0.0012) and 39 (21.6%, P < 0.0002); changes from baseline were observed at week 52 as statistically significant (16.7%, P < 0.0012). Improvements in anthropometrics and levels of key indicators of MetS were observed throughout the study. Conclusion These findings confirm that weight loss is inversely associated with prevalence of MetS and its key indicators among overweight and obese individuals. Future studies may benefit from a larger sample size and better retention.