Dose-response relationship between physical activity and dyslipidemia in youth

The minimal and optimal amount of physical activity associated with cardiovascular health benefits in young people is unknown.

To determine the dose-response relationship between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with high-risk low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride values in youth.

The study sample consisted of 1235 adolescents (12 to 19 years of age) from the 20032004 and 20052006 cycles of the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Objective measures of MVPA were obtained over seven days with accelerometers. LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were measured from a fasting blood sample. High-risk values for these lipidslipoproteins were determined using age- and sex-specific thresholds. Logistic regression models were used to determine the dose-response relationships between MVPA and high-risk lipid levels.

ORs for high-risk HDL cholesterol and triglyceride values decreased in a curvilinear manner with increasing minutes of MVPA. Compared with no MVPA (0 min), the ORs for high-risk HDL cholesterol values at 15 min, 30 min and 60 min per day of MVPA were 0.29 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.67), 0.24 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.64) and 0.21 (95% CI 0.07 to 0.61), respectively. The corresponding ORs for high-risk triglyceride values were 0.40 (95% CI 0.18 to 0.76), 0.22 (95% CI 0.06 to 0.66) and 0.10 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.51). There was no discernible dose-response relationship between MVPA and LDL cholesterol.

Small amounts of MVPA were associated with a large reduction in the likelihood of having high-risk HDL cholesterol and triglyceride values in this representative sample of adolescents.