Effects of a Hypocaloric Diet and Physical Training on Ventilatory Efficiency in Women with Metabolic Syndrome: A Prospective Interventional Study

Caroline Simões Teixeira, Débora Dias Ferraretto Moura Rocco, Raphael de Souza Pinto, Alexandre Galvão da Silva () and Alessandra Medeiros
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Caroline Simões Teixeira: Physiology Laboratory of Health, Santa Cecília University, Santos 11045-907, Brazil
Débora Dias Ferraretto Moura Rocco: Physiology Laboratory of Health, Santa Cecília University, Santos 11045-907, Brazil
Raphael de Souza Pinto: Physiology Laboratory of Health, Santa Cecília University, Santos 11045-907, Brazil
Alexandre Galvão da Silva: Physiology Laboratory of Health, Santa Cecília University, Santos 11045-907, Brazil
Alessandra Medeiros: Department of Bioscience, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp), Santos 11015-020, Brazil

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a multifactorial clinical condition characterized by the co-occurrence of abdominal obesity, impaired glucose metabolism, high blood pressure, and dyslipidemia. Non-pharmacological strategies, such as hypocaloric diets (HD) and structured physical training (PT), have shown promise in improving metabolic and functional outcomes in this population. The aim of this prospective interventional study was to evaluate the effects of a 16-week program combining HD with PT on ventilatory efficiency and cardiometabolic risk markers in women with MetS. Forty-one sedentary women (aged 45–55 years) with clinically diagnosed MetS underwent anthropometric, metabolic, nutritional, and cardiopulmonary assessments before and after the intervention. Participants engaged in 60 min exercise sessions three times per week and followed a personalized hypocaloric diet targeting 5–10% weight loss. Post-intervention analyses revealed significant reductions ( p ≤ 0.05) in body weight (from 86.6 kg ± 3.3 kg to 78.2 kg ± 3.3 kg), body fat percentage (40.1% ± 0.6% to 33.4% ± 1.6%), and waist circumference (105.1 cm ± 1.2 cm to 95.7 cm ± 1.9 cm). Improvements were also observed in fasting glucose (from 117.1 mg/dL to 95.1 mg/dL) and triglycerides (158.8 mg/dL ± 9.1 mg/dL to 111.8 mg/dL ± 9.1 mg/dL), and in lean mass percentage (59.9% ± 6.5% to 66.6% ± 1.7%). Cardiopulmonary variables showed enhanced ventilatory function, with increased VO 2 peak (1.59 L/min ± 0.1 L/min to 1.74 ± 0.1 L/min), improved oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and a steeper VO 2 /workload relationship. Resting heart rate and blood pressure declined significantly (69.9 bpm ± 2.0 bpm to 64.9 ± 1.8 bpm; 145.4 mmHg ± 3.9/80.2 ± 3.0 mmHg to 140.1 mmHg ± 2.7/75.2 ± 1.6 mmHg). In conclusion, the 16-week intervention combining HD with PT proved effective for reducing cardiometabolic risk factors and enhancing ventilatory efficiency, suggesting improved integration of oxygen uptake, transport, and utilization in the women with MetS assessed.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome X; respiratory function test; exercise therapy; diet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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