Effect of endurance exercise training on blood lipids in young men

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to investigate the effect ofaerobic exercise (running) performed regularly for eight weeks without aspecial diet on blood lipid and lipoprotein levels. Twenty non-smoker,moderately active young volunteer men who were not on a special diet(Training Group = 10 and Control Group = 10) participated in the study.Training group performed aerobic exercise at target heart beat rate of60 to 70% for 1 h/day for 4 days per week during 8 week-trial. Bloodsamples were taken at rest before and after the training period. Lipidand lipoprotein measurements were done with enzymatic method onauto-analyzer. Maximal oxygen uptake in the training group significantlyincreased after the experimental period, while body fat percentages didnot change in both groups. The plasma levels of low densitylipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) increased in training group anddecreased in control group, while levels of high density-cholesterol(HDL-C) decreased in both groups being statistically significant only intraining group. Total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels werenot affected by the training program. In conclusion, a short term (8weeks) aerobic exercise program performed without a special diet inmoderately active young men may be considered as insufficient to makefavorable effects on blood lipid profile.