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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #270615
Title: Efficacy of aerobic exercise and a prudent diet for improving selected lipids and lipoproteins in adults: A meta-analysis of andomized controlled trials

Author
item KELLEY, GEORGE - West Virginia University
item KELLEY, KRISTI - West Virginia University
item ROBERTS, SUSAN - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item HASKELL, WILLIAM - Stanford University

Submitted to: BioMed Central (BMC) Medicine
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2011
Publication Date: 6/15/2011
Citation: Kelley, G.A., Kelley, K.S., Roberts, S.B., Haskell, W. 2011. Efficacy of aerobic exercise and a prudent diet for improving selected lipids and lipoproteins in adults: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BioMed Central (BMC) Medicine. 15;9(1):74.

Interpretive Summary: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public health problem with more than 81 million American adults (about 1 in 3) having one or more types of CVD. In terms of mortality, the estimated annual death rate from CVD in the United States was 831,272, approximately 34.3% of all deaths, in 2006. The costs associated with CVD are also high. In 2010, the annual total direct and indirect costs associated with CVD in the United States were estimated to be $503.2 billion. One of the major risk factors for CVD is less than optimal lipid and lipoprotein levels, a common problem among American adults. In 2006, the prevalence of less than optimal levels of lipids and lipoproteins was estimated to be 102.2 million for total cholesterol (TC), 35.1 million for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and 71.2 million for low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), the primary target of lipid lowering therapy in adults. These prevalence rates included 46.8% of all American adults for TC, 16.2% for HDL-C and 32.6% for LDL-C. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined effects of aerobic exercise and a prudent diet on lipids and lipoproteins in adults. The overall results suggest that the combined effects of both are efficacious for favorably changing TC, the ratio of TC to HDL-C, LDL-C and TG, but not HDL-C, in adults. These findings appear to be important from a practical perspective, especially in relation to the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD), a disease with an annual estimated incidence rate in the United States of more than 1.4 million people. In conclusion, aerobic exercise and a prudent diet are efficacious for improving TC, TC:HDL-C, LDL-C and TG, but not HDL-C, in adults. However, a need exists for additional studies on this topic.

Technical Abstract: Studies addressing the effects of aerobic exercise and a prudent diet on lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in adults have reached conflicting conclusions. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of aerobic exercise combined with a prudent diet on lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in adults. Studies were located by searching nine electronic databases, crossreferencing, and expert review. Two independent reviewers selected studies that met the following criteria: (1) randomized controlled trials, (2) aerobic exercise combined with diet recommendations (saturated/trans fat intake less than 10% of total calories and cholesterol less than 300 mg/day and/or fiber intake >25 g/day in women and >35 grams per day in men), (3) intervention >4 weeks, (4) humans >18 years of age, (5) published studies, including dissertations and Master’s theses, (6) studies published in any language, (7) studies published between January 1, 1955 and May 1, 2009, (8) assessment of one or more of the following lipid and lipoprotein concentrations: total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), ratio of TC to HDL-C, non-HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG). Two reviewers independently extracted all data. Random-effects models that account for heterogeneity and 95% confidence intervals were used to pool findings. Of the 1,401 citations reviewed, six studies representing 16 groups (8 intervention, 8 control) and up to 559 men and women (282 intervention, 277 control) met the criteria for analysis. Statistically significant intervention minus control reductions were found for TC (-15.5 mg/dl, 95% CI, -20.3 to -10.7), TC:HDL-C (-0.4 mg/dl, 95% CI, -0.7 to -0.2), LDL-C (-9.2 mg/dl, 95% CI, -12.7 to -5.8) and TG (-10.6 3 mg/dl, 95% CI, -17.2 to -4.0) but not HDL-C (-0.5 mg/dl, 95% CI, -4.0 to 3.1). Changes were equivalent to reductions of 7.5%, 6.6%, 7.2% and 18.2% respectively, for TC, TC:HDL-C, LDL-C and TG. Because of missing variance statistics, non-HDL-C was excluded. Aerobic exercise combined with a prudent diet is highly efficacious for improving TC, TC:HDL-C, LDL-C and TG, but not HDL-C concentrations, in adults. However, additional studies are needed, including effectiveness studies using intention to- treat analysis.