Lifestyle intervention program reduces metabolic syndrome in a high-risk population

Objective The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a short-term faith-based lifestyle intervention that reduced risk factors contributing to obesity and metabolic syndrome in a high-risk US ethnic population. Methods The two-week residential medically supervised intervention incorporated a natural environment with spiritual motivation, plant-based nutrition, customized physical activity, cognitive awareness strategies and health education. The demographic population included forty-two middle-aged and aged participants of African-American or Afro-Caribbean/Other descent, considered as a high-risk for cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality enrolled in the Fit 4 You Lifestyle Retreat for two weeks. Based on the stratified analysis, the 59.5% of the demographic grouping consisted of African-American participants and 40.5% were Caribbean Americans. The mean age of the participants was 59.23 ± 11.24 years. Results Post-intervention sample paired t- test results indicated that blood concentrations of triglyceride, total cholesterol, and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol were reduced compared to pre-intervention baselines. Conclusion This research suggests that short-term risk reduction interventions like the Fit 4 You Retreat can significantly reduce cardiometabolic vulnerability in this high-risk population.