By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Just three weeks of exercise and a healthy diet produced positive changes in middle-aged men with a cluster of heart risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, according to a new study from Austria. “The data of the AMAS-2000 study proved that daily hiking for hours at any altitude provides cardiovascular benefits and represents an excellent therapeutic opportunity for physical and mental regeneration even for individuals with a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors,” Dr. Guenther Neumayr told Reuters Health in an email. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of characteristics, including abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood sugar and elevated blood pressure. People with metabolic syndrome are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.