Cited by 588Cardiovascular and exercise physiologyPhysical Activity and HealthLipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health

Blood Lipid and Lipoprotein Adaptations to Exercise: A Quantitative Analysis

Durstine, J. Larry, Grandjean, Peter W., Davis, Paul G., Ferguson, Michael A., Alderson, Nathan L., DuBose, Katrina D.·2001·Sports Medicine

Abstract

Dose-response relationships between exercise training volume and blood lipid changes suggest that exercise can favourably alter blood lipids at low training volumes, although the effects may not be observable until certain exercise thresholds are met. The thresholds established from cross-sectional literature occur at training volumes of 24 to 32 km (15 to 20 miles) per week of brisk walking or jogging and elicit between 1200 to 2200 kcal/wk. This range of weekly energy expenditure is associated with 2 to 3 mg/dl increases in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) reductions of 8 to 20 mg/dl. Evidence from cross-sectional studies indicates that greater changes in HDL-C levels can be expected with additional increases in exercise training volume. HDL-C and TG changes are often observed after training regimens requiring energy expenditures similar to those characterised from cross-sectional data. Training programmes that elicit 1200 to 2200 kcal/wk in exercise are often effective at elevating HDL-C levels from 2 to 8 mg/dl, and lowering TG levels by 5 to 38 mg/dl. Exercise training seldom alters total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). However, this range of weekly exercise energy expenditure is also associated with TC and LDL-C reductions when they are reported. The frequency and extent to which most of these lipid changes are reported are similar in both genders, with the exception of TG. Thus, for most individuals, the positive effects of regular exercise are exerted on blood lipids at low training volumes and accrue so that noticeable differences frequently occur with weekly energy expenditures of 1200 to 2200 kcal/wk. It appears that weekly exercise caloric expenditures that meet or exceed the higher end of this range are more likely to produce the desired lipid changes. This amount of physical activity, performed at moderate intensities, is reasonable and attainable for most individuals and is within the American College of Sports Medicine's currently recommended range for healthy adults.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2165/00007256-200131150-00002

Cites

160 of 160 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

3 of the 163 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Durstine, J. L., Grandjean, P. W., Davis, P. G., Ferguson, M. A., Alderson, N. L., & DuBose, K. D.
Affiliations
  • University of South Carolina (US)
  • Auburn University (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
Venue
Sports Medicine
Published
2001
Volume
31
Issue
15
Pages
1033-1062
ISSN
0112-1642 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2167094654
Cited by
588
References
163
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 40
FWCI
34.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Scholar Commons (University of South Carolina) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
Keywords
exercise training, serum lipids, lipoproteins, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, exercise energy expenditure, training volume, dose-response relationship, exercise threshold, sex differences, physical activity guidelines
MeSH terms
Adult, Body Composition, Cholesterol, Cross-Sectional Studies, Energy Metabolism, Evaluation Studies as Topic, Exercise Therapy, Female, Humans, Hypercholesterolemia, Life Style, Lipids, Lipoproteins, Male, Physical Education and Training, Physical Endurance, Sex Factors, Time Factors, Triglycerides, Exercise

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review