Effects Of Aerobic Exercise Intensity Levels On Blood Lipids And Lipoprotein Profiles Of Male Adolescents

Abstract

PURPOSE: o evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise of different intensity levels on lipid profiles of male adolescents. METHODS: A pre-test and post-test design, in which 45 randomly selected male collegiate adolescents, aged 14-17 years were divided into three groups; low, moderate and high-intensity groups with 15 participants, respectively. Participants underwent anthropometric measurements and were tested for serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) at pre/and posttest at baseline, on 6th and 12th weeks of training. The low, moderate and high-intensity groups, with the moderation of time per session, covered a constant distance of 1.5 km with heart rate maximum (HRmax) of 40-54% at 32 minutes, 2.4 km with HRmax at 42 minutes, 3.2 km with HRmax of 75-90% at 47 minutes, respectively. RESULTS: The low intensity aerobic exercise indicated significant effect of jogging exercise on lipid profiles of male adolescents with TC (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.004), TG (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.002), LDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.007) and HDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.003). Moderate intensity aerobic exercise showed significant effects on TC (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.000), TG (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.005), LDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.008), and HDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.000), while high intensity aerobic exercise showed significant effects on TC (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.001), TG (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.000), LDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.008), and HDL-C (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.009) of male adolescent. There was significant effects of aerobic exercise of different intensity levels on atherogenic index plasma (AIP) in low intensity group (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.006), moderate intensity group (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.002), and high intensity group ((F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.005). Cardiac risk ratio (CRR) was only significant in the low intensity exercise (F (2, 14) = 3.74 < 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in TC, TG, LDL-C, and increased HDL-C demonstrates regular jogging can potentially reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases and lessen atherosclerosis risk in male adolescents; therefore should be encouraged as a non-pharmacological measure in preventing the onset of atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and cardiovascular diseases in adolescents.