Energy balance
In weight-stable interventions, low-fat diet and exercise do not independently improve metabolic syndrome scores; the improvement is entirely mediated by the loss of percent body fat.
If you are doing a low-fat diet or exercising to fix metabolic syndrome, the benefit you see is likely due to the small amount of body fat you lost, not the diet or exercise itself. If you cannot lose body fat, these specific interventions may not improve your metabolic syndrome score. Focus on achieving fat loss, regardless of the method.
After adjustment for ΔBF, low-fat diet alone and in combination with exercise had no effect on MetS. The key component for MetS from low-fat diet and/or increased physical activity appears to be body fat loss.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with rigorous adjustment for body composition, though limited to specific demographics (postmenopausal women, men with dyslipidemia).
Source
Metabolic Syndrome and Changes in Body Fat From a Low‐fat Diet and/or Exercise Randomized Controlled Trial
Sarah M. Camhi et al. · Obesity · 2009
DOI 10.1038/oby.2009.304
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