Alterations of atherogenic low-density lipoproteins and serum fatty acids after 12 week moderate exercise training in sedentary Thai women

The potential benefit of aerobic exercise upon cardiovascular disease (CVD) through an increasing high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) is acknowledged. However, its effects on low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and their subpopulations, are unknown in Thailand. Twenty sedentary Thai women undertook a 12-week exercise training program (60% heart rate reserve) comprising 25-minute cycling followed by 10-minute warm-up/cool-down 3 times a week with a group of 20 matched sedentary subjects as control. Triacylglycerols (TGs) and cholesterol (C) of plasma lipoproteins including triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins (TRLs), large, buoyant LDL (lb-LDL), small, dense LDL (sd-LDL) and HDLs were analyzed while serum fatty acid profiles were also assessed. It was found that plasma TGs, TRL-TGs, sd-LDL-C and sd-LDL-C/lb-LDL-C (S/L) ratio decreased significantly after 12-weeks of exercise to -9%, -8%, -17% and -19% respectively from baseline (p < 0.05). Serum fatty acid profiles remained unchanged. No alteration of any parameters was found in the control group without exercise. These findings suggest that moderate exercise training, even without a change of HDLs, impedes the shift of lb-LDL to more atherogenic sd-LDL, thus possibly preventing cardiovascular disease in healthy, sedentary Thai women.