Worldwide, more than 60% of the adult population has at least one chronic disease and 20% to 30% are affected by two or more chronic diseases, with cardiometabolic diseases being the most frequent and the main causes of death in the world. People with multiple chronic diseases have a greater chance of hospitalization, longer hospital stay, worse general health status, worse physical and mental function, and lower functional capacity, with an average risk of 50% functional decline with each additional condition [1,2].
Among the non-pharmacological interventions with proven beneficial effects, the practice of physical exercise stands out as an adjuvant treatment and plays an important role in the prevention of cardiometabolic multimorbidity. The practice of a healthier lifestyle, including regular physical activity, was associated with up to 7.6 more years of life for women, improving the general health status of the individual, especially those with multimorbidity. While lower levels of physical activity were associated with increased prevalence of multimorbidity in women aged 16 to 24 years [3,4].
The beneficial effects of physical exercise interventions were demonstrated in the review by Bricca et al, on quality of life outcomes, functional capacity and adverse effects in a population with multimorbidity [5]. However, new approaches to interventions with a multimorbid population are recommended, such as the use of disease patterns to limit the multiple combinations, in addition to interventions aimed at different aspects of the patient, in a multidirectional care [6,7].
Thus, the objective of the review proposed here is to answer the following question: what are the effects of physical exercise and physical activity on body composition, physical capacity and quality of life in individuals with cardiometabolic multimorbidity?