Highlights
- Healthy die and exercise is important to prevent metabolic syndrome
- Obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for metabolic syndrome
- Eating low calorie diet and exercising may prevent metabolic syndrome
The body has different dietary and physical needs at different stages of life and the same is true for men, women and all other sexes and genders. However, diet and exercise are important for a healthy life for everyone. Eating healthy and exercising both have a number of health benefits for our mental and physical health. A new study has pointed to the benefits of these two for post-menopausal women. The study, published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, said that both healthy diet and exercise are key to a healthy transition to menopause for middle-aged women and these may help lower their risks of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. Healthy diet and daily exercise can essentially lower the risk of menopausal women developing metabolic syndrome, which is characterised by symptoms like high levels of fat in the blood, low levels of good cholesterol in the body, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.
One in every five American suffers from metabolic syndrome and the statistics are as alarming in India as well. According to lead study author Jennifer S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford Medical Center, this particular study is different from previous studies on the subject as it focuses on the transitional phase of women's lives, to potentially avoid these symptoms and bring down the risks of them developing metabolic syndrome. The study is an important one as it indicates that by focussing on a healthy diet and indulge in exercise daily, young women may be able to prevent metabolic syndrome in the post-menopausal stages of their lives.
The study was a multi-ethnic cohort study and it looked at 3,003 women in their midlife. From among these 3003 women, 1412 were non-Hispanic White, 851 were African American, 272 were Japanese, 237 were Hispanic and 231 were Chinese. The researchers found that obesity was the biggest risk factor for causing metabolic syndrome and that increasing physical activity and eating a low calorie diet could help patients recover from metabolic syndrome.