Abstract
The effects of long-term low intensity aerobic training and detraining on serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were examined in 30 elderly men and women. These subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The training group [n=15; 7 men and 8 women; mean age 75.5 (SD 5.6) years] agreed to take part in physical training using a treadmill with an exercise intensity at the blood lactate concentration threshold for 30 min 3–6 times a week for 9 months. The other group [n=15; 7 men and 8 women; mean age 73.7 (SD 4.4) years] did not perform any particular physical training and was followed as the control. Following this training period the high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) had increased significantly (P<0.01) while the total cholesterol (TC) : HDL-C ratio had decreased significantly (P<0.01) in the training group after 9 months but had not changed in the control group. The TC, triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) had not changed significantly in either group. No significant difference was seen between the groups throughout the period for TC, LDLC or TG. There was, however, a significant correlation between the initial TC:HDL-C ratio and the change in the TC:HDL-C ratio following 3 months of training (P <0.05). After 1 month of detraining in 5 patients, the HDL-C had decreased significantly (P < 0.05) while the TC:HDL-C had increased significantly in the training group (P<0.01). These results suggested that long-term low intensity aerobic training improved the profile of serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, while detraining returned the profile to that of the pretraining levels in elderly persons.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allain CC, Poon LS, Chan CSG, Richmond W, Fu PC (1974) Enzymatic determination of total serum cholesterol. Clin Chem 20:470–475
Badenhop DT, Cleary PA, Schaal CS, Fox EL, Bartels RL (1983) Physiological adjustments to higher- or lower-intensity exercise in elders. Med Sci Sport Exerc 15:496–502
Brownell KD, Stunkard AJ (1981) Differential changes in plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in obese men and women during weight reduction. Arch Intern Med 141:1142–1146
Brownell KD, Bachorik P, Ayerle RS (1982) Changes in plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels in men and women after a program of moderate exercise. Circulation 65:477–484
Friedewald WT, Levy RI, Fredrickson DS (1972) Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Clin Chem 18:499–504
Hagberg JM, Graves JE, Limacher M, Woods DR, Leggett SH, Cononic C, Gruber JJ, Pollock ML (1989) Cardiovascular responses of 70- to 79-yr-old men and women to exercise training. J Appl Physiol 66:2589–2594
Hartung GH, Squires WG, Gotto AM (1981) Effect of exercise training on plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in coronary disease patients. Am Heart J 101:181–184
Heiss G, Tamir I, Davis C, Tyroler HA, Rifkind BM, Schonfeld G, Jacobs D, Frantz ID (1980) Lipoprotein-cholesterol distributions in selected north american population: the research clinics program prevalence study. Circulation 61:303–315
Higuchi M, Iwaoka K, Kobayashi S, Tamai T, Takai H, Nakai T (1988) Relation between running distance and plasma HDLcholesterol level in middle-aged runners. J Jpn Atheroscler Soc 16:9–11
Lavie CJ, Milani RV (1993) Factors predicting improvements in lipid values following cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training. Arch Intern Med 153:982–988
Marti B, Suter E, Riesen WF, Tschopp A, Wanner H, Gutzwiller F (1990) Effects of long-term, self-monitored exercise on the serum lipoprotein and apolipoprotein profile in middle-aged men. Atherosclerosis 81:19–31
Nikkila EA, Taskinen MR, Rehunen S, Harkonen M (1978) Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of runners: relation to serum lipoproteins. Metabolism 27:1661–1671
Peltonen P, Marniemi J, Hietanen E, Vuori I, Ehnholm C (1981) Changes in serum lipids, lipoproteins and heparin releasable lipolytic enzymes during moderate physical training in man: a longitudinal study. Metabolism 30:518–526
Sasaki J, Urata H, Tanabe Y, Kinoshita A, Tanaka H, Shindo M, Arakawa K (1989) Mild exercise therapy increases serum high density lipoprotein 2 cholesterol levels in patients with essential hypertension. Am J Med Sci 297:220–223
Seals DR, Allen WK, Hurley BF, Dalsky GP, Ehsani AA, Hagberg JM (1984a) Elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in older endurance athletes. Am J Cardiol 54:390–393
Seals DR, Hagberg JM, Hurley BF, Ehsani AA, Holloszy JO (1984b) Effects of endurance training on glucose tolerance and plasma lipid levels in older men and women. J Am Med Assoc (Chicago) 252:645–649
Tanaka H, Shindo M (1992) The benefits of the low intensity training. Ann Physiol Anthropol 11:365–368
Tanaka H, Kumagai S, Shindo M, Yoshida T, Mutaguchi T, Momriyama Y, Hirota T, Arakawa K (1988) Effect of Nifedupine, Dilazep, Propranolol on blood lactate accumulation during intensive graded exercise testing in healthy young subjects. Jpn Heart J 29:617–630
Tamai T, Takai H, Hujiwara R, Nakai T, Miyayasu S, Higuchi M, Huchi T, Ozawa M, Yamakawa K, Kobayashi S (1984) Plasma apoprotein levels in older endurance athletes. Am J Cardiol 54:390–393
Urata H, Tanabe Y, Kiyonaga A, Yoshida T, Funakoshi M, Sasaki J, Tanaka M, Tanaka H, Shindo M, Arakawa K (1985) Effects of mild exercise therapy on serum lipids and apoproteins. J Jpn Atheroscler Soc 13:189–192
Urata H, Sasaki J, Tanabe Y, Kiyonaga A, Yoshida T, Tanaka H, Shindo M, Arakawa K (1987) Effect of mild aerobic exercise on serum lipids and apolipoproteins in patients with coronary artery disease. Jpn Heart J 28:27–34
Warnick R, Albers JJ (1978) A comprehensive evaluation of the heparin-manganese precipitation procedure for estimating high density lipoprotein cholesterol. J Lipid Res 19:65–76
Whitehurst M, Menendez E (1991) Endurance training in older women. Phys Sportmed 19:95–104
Yoshida T, Hiroki T, Arakawa K, Tanaka H, Shindo M (1984) Exercise therapy based on the blood lactate level for the patients with ischemic heart disease. Latest Med 39:2679–2681
Zimetbaum P, Frishman WH, Ooi WL (1992) Plasma lipids and lipoproteins and the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the very elderly. The bronx aging study. Arterioscler Thromb 12:416–423
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Motoyama, M., Sunami, Y., Kinoshita, F. et al. The effects of long-term low intensity aerobic training and detraining on serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in elderly men and women. Eur J Appl Physiol 70, 126–131 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00361539
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00361539