Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Hinders Exercise Benefits in Obese Adults: Study

Statins is the most widely-used drug to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in those with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.  But in a latest finding, researchers at the University of Missouri found that the generic statin that was earlier sold under the name 'Zocor' reduced the positive effects of exercise in obese and overweight adults.

"Fitness has proven to be the most significant predictor of longevity and health because it protects people from a variety of chronic diseases," said John Thyfault, an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at MU, in a press statement. "Daily physical activity is needed to maintain or improve fitness, and thus improve health outcomes. However, if patients start exercising and taking statins at the same time, it seems that statins block the ability of exercise to improve their fitness levels."

According to Thyfault, cardiologists prescribe statins to patients belonging to a certain age group irrespective of metabolic syndrome, and the same drug is given to those with type 2 diabetes. He suggests that in future, cardiologists should closely monitor the benefits of the drug, based on this new finding.

"Statins have only been used for about 15-20 years, so we don't know what the long-term effects of statins will be on aerobic fitness and overall health," Thyfault said. "If the drugs cause complications with improving or maintaining fitness, not everyone should be prescribed statins." 

To prove their finding, the researchers measured the cardiorespiratory fitness in 37 previously sedentary, obese individuals. They belonged to the age group of 25-59 and maintained low fitness levels. These participants then followed the same exercise regimen on the MU campus for 12 weeks. Out of 37 people, 18 of them took 40 mg of simvastatin daily.

They noticed that statins affected the person's exercise outcomes. Those in the exercise group increased their cardiorespiratory fitness by an average of 10 percent, whereas those who were given statins had just 1.5 percent increase. The skeletal muscle mitochondrial content dropped by 4.5 percent in those taking statins whereas the exercise group had a 13 percent increase.

In order to establish whether lower doses of simvastatin or other types of statins likewise influence people's exercise outcomes and their risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, further research is required.