INS and metabolic syndrome: As expected, participants with MetS had more cardiovascular risk factors at baseline compared to those without MetS, including higher BMI, WHR, Fat%, fasting insulin levels, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, TC, CRP, SFA, VFA, as well as MetS components (higher WC, blood glucose, TG, BP, and lower HDL-c) (P<0.05 for all parameters).