A combination of weight training and aerobic exercise is the best prescription for overweight patients at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Only aerobic exercise is also good as it reduces weight and inches off the waistlines. Jut weight lifting alone has very little benefit.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, people in the weight-training group gained about 1.5 pounds and those in the aerobic group lost an average of 3 pounds and half an inch from their waists. Those who did both weight and aerobic training dropped about 4 pounds and 1 waistline inch. This group also had lower diastolic lower blood pressure as well as a decline in metabolic syndrome score. Both the aerobic-only group and the combined-exercise group also lowered their levels of bad triglycerides.