Regular swimming exercise improves metabolic syndrome risk factors: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background In the past few decades, swimming became one of the most important physical activities within the health system and is considered a practical nonpharmacological approach to managing of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hyperlipidemia, hypertension (HTN), and obesity. The current study aimed to assess the effect of long-term swimming sessions on glycemic and lipidemic parameters, hemodynamic responses, body fat percent, and body mass index for patients with metabolic risk factors from Palestine. Methods Forty participants from both genders with T2DM and HTN (aged 52.4 ± 5.5 yrs) agreed to participate in this quasi-experimental study and were divided into two groups. The first group included the participants who performed long-term swimming sessions and the second group served as the control. The first group exercised for 2 h, 3 times/week in 29–33 °C swimming pool temperature for 16 weeks. Simultaneously, the control group did not participate in any exercise and advised them to keep on with their everyday lifestyle. All the obtained metabolic syndrome risk factors data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA analysis of variance (2*2) which was applied to determine the differences according group, time, and interaction. Results The results showed that there were statistically significant differences at p < 0.05 in the variables of Total Cholesterol (TC), High Density of Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density of Lipoprotein (LDL), Triglycerides (TG), Blood Glucose (BG), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Body Mass Index (BMI), and body fat percent according to group, time, and interaction for the experimental group. Conclusions The findings of the current study suggested that the regular 16 weeks of swimming sessions could be considered nonpharmacological approaches in managing T2DM and HTN.

Cardiac Oxidative Stress and the Therapeutic Approaches to the Intake of Antioxidant Supplements and Physical Activity

“…Notably, the correlation analysis revealed that an increased RVEF is linked with improved RA reservoir and circuit activity and a reduced PVR after HIIT. In other hand, Omar, J.S et al [113] investigated the impact of regular swimming exercise on metabolic syndrome risk factors in humans who have type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and hypertension (HTN). These individuals were subjected to regular swimming for 2 h, 3 times/week for 16 weeks for 6 weeks.…”

Dose-response relationship between 15 weeks of running and aerobic fitness: a retrospective analysis based on the fun running program

“…Previous studies have shown that long-term regular aerobic exercise, such as swimming, cycling and running can significantly improve aerobic endurance [28][29][30][31][32]. Long-term regular swimming is effective in improving aerobic fitness [28,29], and as a low-impact exercise, it is particularly popular with obese people, the elderly, and people with arthritis because it does not involve weightbearing [33]. Similarly, cycling has shown a positive correlation with aerobic fitness, and it can not only improve aerobic fitness but also promote overall health [30][31][32].…”

Using a Motivational Paradigm to Develop an Exercise Program for Nurses with High Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

“…In conclusion, most of the studies regarding promoting MetS used one exercise program such as treadmill exercise training, swimming, yoga, and aerobic exercise as intervention [41][42][43][44]. The main contribution of this study is to provide clear exercise strategies according to each stage of change so as for nurses to develop regular exercise behavior and promote health.…”