Table 1.
Main characteristics and findings of studies included in this review
| Reference | n | Design | Intervention | Measure | Effecta | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banz et al. [28] | 26 | Quasi-experimental |
Aerobic exercise 10 weeks 3 sessions/week 85 % HRmax 40 min |
Total cholesterol | ↑ 4.1 mg/dL | NR |
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 3.9 mg/dL | <0.05b | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↑ 3.4 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Nybo et al. [29] | 36 | RCT |
Aerobic exercise (prolonged) 12 weeks 150 min/week 65 % VO2max |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.3 mmol/L | NR |
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.1 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.1 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.49 | <0.005b | ||||
|
Aerobic exercise (intense interval) 12 weeks 40 min/week HR >95 % during sprints |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.1 mmol/L | NR | |||
| HDL cholesterol | NC | NR | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.1 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.08 | NR | ||||
| Dunn et al. [30] | 235 | Quasi-experimental |
Aerobic exercise 24 weeks 3 sessions/week 50–85 % max aerobic power 20–60 min |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.3 mmol/L | <0.001b |
| HDL cholesterol | NC | 0.54 | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.2 mmol/L | <0.001b | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.3 mmol/L | <0.001b | ||||
| LeMura et al. [31] | 48 | RCT |
Aerobic exercise 16 weeks 3 sessions/week 70–75 % HRmax (weeks 1–8), 85 % HRmax (weeks 8–16) 30 min (weeks 1–8), 45 min (weeks 8–16) |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.3 mmol/L | NR |
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.4 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.2 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 0.2 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 1 | NR | ||||
| Kraus et al. [32] | 111 | RCT |
Aerobic exercise (jogging) 24 weeks 65–80 % VO2peak Jogging Calorific equivalent of 20 miles/week |
Total cholesterol | ↑ 0.4 mg/dL | NR |
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 1.9 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 4.3 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 28.4 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| O’Donovan et al. [33] | 64 | RCT |
Aerobic exercise (moderate-intensity) 24 weeks 3 sessions/week 60 % VO2max 400 kcal/session |
Total cholesterol | ↑ 0.3 mmol/L | NR |
| LDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.17 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.08 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Non-HDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.23 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↑ 0.12 mmol/L | NR | ||||
|
Aerobic exercise (high-intensity) 24 weeks 3 sessions/week 80 % VO2max 400 kcal/session |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.54 mmol/L | <0.005b | |||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.52 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| HDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.01 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Non-HDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.54 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 0.05 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Prabhakaran et al. [35] | 24 | RCT |
Resistance training 14 weeks 3 sessions/week 85 % 1 RM |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 0.42 mmol/L | <0.005b |
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.42 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| HDL cholesterol | ↑ 0.07 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 0.16 mmol/L | NR | ||||
| LDL:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.42 mmol/L | 0.057 | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.54 mmol/L | <0.005b | ||||
| Vatani et al. [38] | 30 | RCT |
Resistance training (moderate-intensity) 6 weeks 3 sessions/week 45–55 % 1 RM |
HDL cholesterol | ↑ 2.3 mg/dL | NR |
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 13.5 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 11.4 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Total cholesterol | ↓ 12.4 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.38 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
|
Resistance training (high-intensity) 6 weeks 3 sessions/week 80–90 % 1 RM |
HDL cholesterol | ↑ 5.5 mg/dL | <0.005b | |||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 12.1 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↑ 0.1 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Total cholesterol | ↓ 11.3 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.47 mg/dL | <0.005b | ||||
| Fett et al. [39] | 50 | Quasi-experimental |
Resistance training, circuit training 8 weeks 3 sessions/week (weeks 1–4), 4 sessions/week (weeks 4–8) 60 min |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 17 mg/dL | <0.01b |
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 11 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| HDL cholesterol | ↓ 6 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | ↓ 0.2 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 31 mg/dL | <0.05b | ||||
| Shaw et al. [41] | 28 | RCT |
Aerobic and resistance training 16 weeks 3 sessions/week Aerobic: 60 % HRmax, resistance: 60 % 1 RM 45 min |
LDL cholesterol | ↓ 2.16 mmol/L | <0.05b |
| Yang et al. [42] | 40 | Pre–post |
Aerobic and resistance training 12 weeks 5 sessions/week Aerobic: 300 kcal, resistance: 100 kcal |
Total cholesterol | ↓ 1 mmol/L | 0.655 |
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 0.6 mmol/L | 0.172 | ||||
| Triglycerides | ↓ 0.5 mmol/L | <0.01b | ||||
| Ha and So [43] | 16 | RCT |
Aerobic and resistance training 12 weeks 3 sessions/week Aerobic: 60–80 % HRreserve, resistance: 12–15 RM Aerobic: 30 min, resistance: 30 min |
Triglycerides | ↓ 46.71 mg/dL | <0.05b |
| HDL cholesterol | ↓ 3.71 mg/dL | NR | ||||
| Total cholesterol | ↓ 19.29 mg/dL | <0.05b | ||||
| LDL cholesterol | ↓ 8.57 mg/dL | <0.05b |
HDL high-density lipoprotein, HR heart rate, HR max maximal heart rate, HR reserve heart rate reserve, LDL low-density lipoprotein, max maximum, NC no change, NR not reported, RCT randomized controlled trial, RM repetition maximum, VLDL very-low-density lipoprotein, VO 2max maximal aerobic capacity, VO 2peak peak aerobic capacity, ↑ increase, ↓ decrease
a All comparisons are with the baseline values
b Represents a significant (p < 0.05) interaction or pre–post change in cholesterol levels