If you knew that regular exercise could protect against high cholesterol, would you be more motivated to exercise regularly?

In a recent study, researchers wanted to see if exercise and physical activity influence levels of fat in the blood. They wanted to see the relationship between different forms of a certain protein (apolipo-protein E, which is involved in the cholesterol clearance) and physical activity affects elevated triglyceride concentration.

The research group recruited untrained but healthy subjects between 25 and 48 years old evenly divided between genders. After establishing baseline cardiovascular fitness, body composition, glucose tolerance and triglyceride/cholesterol concentrations for each subject, the researchers classified each study participant by genetically determined apo E category.

Fifteen men and 22 women made up the apo E2 group; 38 men and 25 women composed the apo E3 group; the apo E4 group comprised 12 men and 17 women.

The investigators evaluated six different forms of lipids and lipoproteins (including total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol) and assessed their relationships to cardiovascular fitness.

After examining the results, the investigators discovered that the relationships between cardiovascular fitness and lipids and lipoproteins (particularly triglycerides) differed depending on the genetic makeup of the apo E. For some categories of apo E, there was a significant relationship between fitness and lipids, while no such relationship was seen in other groups.

The study reported for the first time that the relationship between VO2 max and plasma lipoprotein-lipid levels differs by genetic determination of apo E. Previous research has shown that a high level of physical fitness was associated with a favourable plasma lipoprotein-lipid profile, but the current study shows exactly which apo form is the most receptive to lipid concentration level reduction. Future studies should control for other factors, and have an interventional makeup in order to support these results.

The most important implication of these findings is that the study shows a possible way to identify those persons who may be non-responsive to exercise training for treatment of lipid and lipoprotein disorders.

Those persons would thus be candidates for other strategies such as pharmacotherapy. These results may also suggest a genetic blueprint of individuals who may be particularly good candidates for exercise therapy to treat or prevent abnormal lipoprotein function.

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Exercise programmes for heart health
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