Effects of exercise for 1 month on serum lipids in adolescent females.
BACKGROUND
The present study was done to clarify the effects of 1 month of exercise on levels of total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and on the ratio TC/HDLC and also to evaluate the relationship of body fat to amount of exercise and TC/HDLC ratio.


METHODS
Twenty-seven female athletes (aged 15-18 years) were divided into two groups: the participant's group, in which players trained and attended a tournament, and the non-participant's group, in which players did not attend the tournament. We assessed the amount of exercise, body composition, serum TC and HDLC and TC/HDLC on four occasions: before (T0), during (T1), 1 day after (T2) and a week after (T3) the experimental period. Levels of TC and HDLC adjusted for changes in plasma volume were compared for each occasion. Two multiple regression models for change in TC/HDLC from T0 to T2 and from T0 to T3 were employed.


RESULTS
(i) The changing patterns in TC and HDLC throughout the program were different between the two groups; (ii) the decreased level of TC/HDLC after 1 month of exercise may easily revert to its original level; and (iii) the relevant factor for the decline in TC/HDLC was the amount of exercise, not body fat reduction.


CONCLUSIONS
Exercise may be a more important factor for the improvement of TC/HDLC than concomitant body fat reduction and non-strenuous exercise may maintain a more stable and higher HDLC level than strenuous exercise.
Hanai
T
T
Department of Physical Education, Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University, Japan. hanai@ha.shotoku.ac.jp
Takada
H
H
Nagashima
M
M
Kuwano
T
T
Iwata
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D001490:Basketball; D001823:Body Composition; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D010953:Plasma Volume; D012044:Regression Analysis
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D002784:Cholesterol