Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis: Intense interval training a cure?

Life Fit Chat with That's Fit Life Fit Expert Laura Lewis brings conversation provoking tidbits to your table, served up with a touch of spice! Byte-sized information that pack some punch, brought to you every Wednesday and Thursday!

Having a fit heart is essential to a fit life. Metabolic syndrome is a disorder that affects over 50 million Americans. People with metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and peripheral vascular disease, as well as type 2 diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, metabolic syndrome -- also know as insulin resistance syndrome -- is characterized by the following health issues:

• Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
• Atherogenic dyslipidemia (blood fat disorders - high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol - that foster plaque buildups in artery walls)
• Elevated blood pressure
• Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can't properly use insulin or blood sugar)
• Prothrombotic state (e.g., high fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor–1 in the blood)
• Proinflammatory state (e.g., elevated C-reactive protein in the blood)

The predominant risk factors for metabolic syndrome seems to be an excess of fat in the abdominal area, as well as a resistance to insulin -- a generalized metabolic disorder that prevents the body from efficiently metabolizing sugar. A new study in American Heart Association's journal, Circulation, claims that intense interval training is super for reversing this life-threatening disease.

The study, which involved 32 patients, measured the results of equal amounts of either aerobic interval training or continuous moderate exercise three times weekly for 16 weeks. Participants experienced a decrease in symptoms associated with metabolic syndrome, as well as an increase in maximal oxygen uptake leading investigators to conclude, "We propose that high-intensity exercise training programs may yield more favorable results than programs with low to moderate intensities."