Ask Dr KK : Which exercise protocol is better: aerobic, weight training or mix

Dr KK Answers: A combination of weight training and aerobic exercise is the best prescription for overweight patients with at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Only aerobic exercise is also as good as it reduces weight and inches off the waistlines. Jut weight lifting alone has very little benefit.

According to a study published in the July 7th issue of American Journal of Cardiology, people in the weight-training group gained about 1.5 pounds and those in the aerobic group lost an average of 3 pounds and half an inch from their waists.

Those who did both weight and aerobic training dropped about 4 pounds and 1 waistline inch.  This group also saw a decrease in diastolic lower blood pressure and in a metabolic syndrome score.

Both the aerobic-only group and the combined-exercise group also lowered their levels of bad triglycerides.

Dr KK Answers: Can weight lifting lower the metabolic syndrome risk?

Not alone or not without combining it with the aerobics.

Walking, jogging, and cycling are the key in fight against metabolic syndrome, whereas weight lifting doesn't help. In a randomized trial conducted by Lori A. Bateman, MS, of Duke University Medical Center published in the American Journal of Cardiology; eight months of resistance training had little impact on metabolic syndrome in overweight adults with abnormal lipid profiles.

They also showed that the same duration of aerobic exercise yielded greater benefits for weight, waist circumference and triglycerides. Doing both types of exercise wasn't significantly more effective than aerobics alone. Even American Heart Association recommends aerobic exercise over resistance training for modifying cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The study Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise (STRRIDE-AT/RT) included 196 men and women ages 18 to 70 who exercised no more than twice a week and had a body mass index in the 25 to 35 kg/m2 range with mild to moderate dyslipidemia. The study subjects were randomized to eight months in an exercise program.