title: Plasma lipid concentrations in college students performing self-selected exercise.
abstract: Plasma cholesterol and other blood lipids were determined in 64 college juniors and seniors during January and February 1989 (before exercise) and again during April and May 1989 (after exercise). A 14-week period of self-selected exercise was interposed between the before and after exercise cholesterol determinations. Cholesterol concentrations ranged from 127-273 mg/dl (before exercise) to 131-261 mg/dl (after exercise) in this group of students who were 22 +/- 1 years of age. There were no statistically significant differences in cholesterol concentrations between the genders. Students could be further subdivided into groups with low (144 +/- 3 mg/dl, n = 12), medium (176 +/- 6 mg/dl, n = 35), and high (224 +/- 6 mg/dl, n = 17) concentrations of cholesterol. Only students in the high cholesterol group experienced a significant reduction in total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol after 14 weeks of exercise. High-density-lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in women than in men in both the medium and high cholesterol subgroups before and after exercise. From these results it appears that a significant fraction of the young adult college population could be at increased risk of coronary heart disease because of inappropriately high concentrations of cholesterol. Moreover, self-selected exercise, if engaged in regularly, can reduce blood cholesterol significantly in students with high cholesterol concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903.
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Friedrichs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol