Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Macronutrient Intake, and the Metabolic Syndrome: The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study

ObjectiveThis study examines the cross-sectional associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome with adjustment for macronutrient intake from 3-day dietary records.DesignCross-sectional study.Subjects/settingWomen and men who had a comprehensive medical examination, including a symptom-limited maximal treadmill exercise test, and completed 3-day dietary records at the Cooper Clinic, Dallas, TX.Main Outcome MeasuresMetabolic syndrome as defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria.Statistical Analyses PerformedAnalysis of variance was used to examine differences in continuous data. General linear analysis was used to examine linear trends. Mantel-Haenszel χ2 analyses were used to examine differences in categorical data. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsAfter adjusting for sex and age, cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (P<0.001). Adjustment for macronutrient intake and other potential confounding variables did not alter the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and prevalent metabolic syndrome.ConclusionsCardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Patients should be encouraged to increase their physical activity to decrease their risk for metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease.