Failure of 40 Weeks of Brisk Walking to Alter Blood Lipids in Normolipemic Women

Abstract

Sedentary, eumenorrheic women (N = 27) 22 to 40 years of age, with high baseline levels of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were randomly assigned to a walking (n = 16) or a control group (n = 11). The training program involved treadmill walking 4.8 km (3.0 miles) four times a week for 40 weeks at a mean intensity of 72% maximal heart rate. Aerobic power (VO2max) was improved by 22%, but no training effect was observed in body composition variables or blood lipid/lipoprotein levels. Despite additional increments in exercise intensity over the final 20 weeks of training, most of the improvement in VO2max was observed over the first 20 weeks of the study. Exercising subjects' baseline levels of plasma HDL-C were found to be inversely associated with the change (delta) scores in the lipoprotein (r = -0.51, p < or = .05).

Effects of an Energy-Restrictive Diet With or Without Exercise on Abdominal Fat, Intermuscular Fat, and Metabolic Risk Factors in Obese Women

“…Given the importance of weight and/or fat loss in the treatment of disturbances in plasma lipids and lipoproteins, it is not unreasonable to assume that the inability of exercise to induce an added benefit is at least partially explained by the inability of exercise to increase the reduction in total or abdominal adiposity. This is consistent with the observation that exercise in the absence of weight loss has little or no effect on the plasma lipid profi le (12, 15,52,53). In this way, it is suggested that improvement in obesity-related dyslipidemias may best be accomplished by the prescription of prolonged (30 -60 min/day) low-intensity (50 -60% VO 2max ) exercise on all or most days of the week (24,54 -56).…”

The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk

“…It is likely that the energy cost of the walking sessions in the present study was approximately 370 kcal per week [31] and therefore unlikely to alter lipid profiles. Additionally, the lack of change in body weight or body fat in both our walking groups may have contributed to the failure to evoke favourable changes in HDL-C [32].…”

The Metabolic Syndrome

“…By the Harris-Benedict equation, the usual caloric intake would be estimated at 1556 cal/d. 11 Dietary consumption of 1050 cal/d, a 500 cal/d lower intake, with no change in exercise would be expected to lead to a weight loss of approximately one pound a week. The ideal weight target for this woman would be 129 pounds.…”