Aerobic capacity, obesity, and atherosclerotic risk factors in male adolescents

Correlations between aerobic capacity, obesity, and atherosclerotic risk factors were evaluated in adolescents with low-to-moderate levels of physical fitness. Subjects with higher levels of fitness had a more favorable risk profile with decreased body mass index, lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and plasma triglyceride levels, and higher plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. Simple linear regression analysis revealed an association between body mass index and blood pressure, plasma triglyceride and plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. The level of aerobic fitness as determined by exercise duration was also associated with the same atherosclerotic risk factors. However, multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that body mass index provided the largest explanation, by those variables examined, of the interindividual variance in blood pressure, plasma triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Aerobic fitness contributed only minimally to the variation in these risk factors. These findings suggest that if aerobic conditioning is used to modify atherosclerotic risk factors, it should be accompanied by a reduction in weight in adolescents with low-to-moderate levels of physical fitness.