The effect of exercise training on physical fitness and plasma lipids in young Chinese men and women.
BACKGROUND
The mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) has been steadily increasing in many parts of the world. Measures to reduce the incidence of CHD were initially addressed mainly to middle aged and elderly population groups, but for effective prevention of CHD, measures addressed to younger age groups are also necessary. Moreover, differences between male and female plasma lipid changes after exercise training are not known exactly.


METHODS
The concentrations of plasma lipids, before and after regular physical exercise training for 12 weeks, were analyzed in 25 male and 25 female medical students of the same age group. Physical fitness was evaluated by the measurement of maximum oxygen uptake.


RESULTS
Results indicated that plasma tri-glyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL-cholesterol differences between the before-and-after exercise were significant (p < 0.05) in males while the differences of plasma total cholesterol were found to be insignificant. In females there were no significant changes in the plasma lipids levels. In both males and females, the marked increase in maximal O2 uptake after exercise training indicated an improvement in physical fitness.


CONCLUSIONS
This study concludes that a short-term exercise program can improve plasma lipid and lipoprotein patterns more in males than in females. It also suggests that daily physical exercise may be an important prevention for cardiovascular diseases in later life, so it is essential to establish a life style with optimum nutrition and physical activity in both the young and in adults of all ages.
Xi
X R
XR
Shanghai Medical University, People's Republic of China.
Qureshi
I A
IA
Wu
X D
XD
Khan
I H
IH
Huang
Y B
YB
Shiarkar
E
E
D000328:Adult; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012737:Sex Factors
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008055:Lipids