Relationship of physical activity, body fat, diet, and blood lipid profile in youths 10-15 yr

The relationship between risk factors for CHD such as physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, subcutaneous body fat, dietary intake characteristics, age, and sex with the blood lipid profile was examined in 39 boys and 58 girls aged 10-15 yr. In boys, a high level of physical activity was related to higher concentrations of HDL-C (r = 0.32, P < 0.05), as well as to lower concentrations of VLDL-C, total triglycerides (TG), and the ratio of total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C (r = -0.42; -0.40, both P < 0.01; and -0.37, P < 0.05). A high sum of 10 skinfolds (sigma 10SF) was related to a higher ratio of TC/HDL-C (r = 0.35; P < 0.05). In girls, physical activity was positively related to HDL-C (r = 0.29; P < 0.05). The sigma 10SF showed a negative association with Apo A-I and HDL-C (r = -0.26, -0.29, both P < 0.05) and a positive association with apolipoprotein B (Apo B) (r = 0.28, P < 0.05). Cardiovascular fitness was not significantly related to any of the blood lipid concentrations, in either boys or girls. Intake of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol was positively related to TC levels in boys, but the associations failed to reach statistical significance (r = 0.34 and r = 0.31, P > 0.05) due to the small sample size (N = 32).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)