While lifestyle interventions show promise in tackling cardiometabolic diseases, their long-term success hinges on policy-driven environments that make healthy living accessible for all. Study: Lifestyle interventions for cardiometabolic health . Image Credit: Shutterstock AI A recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine reviewed the benefits of combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) on cardiometabolic health.
Obesity and overweight are risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), and their global prevalence has tripled in recent decades. Societal changes have shifted from leisure activities or labor-intensive work to more sedentary and inactive lifestyles. Concurrently, dietary patterns have shifted from plant-based diets to Western diets that are characterized by high-energy, low-fiber, and high-sugar foods.
The study highlights that these trends disproportionately affect socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, where CMD prevalence can be up to five times higher than in more affluent groups. CLIs target multiple lifestyle behaviors and have the potential to prevent CMD in at-risk populations. However, in the long term, they are not always sustainable, and their effects attenuate in routine care.
In the present study, researchers reviewed the short—and long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness of CLIs for obesity, overweight, and related CMDs in controlled studies and routine care. Contributions of Lifestyle Behaviors to CMD Risk Population-wide benefi.