The acute effects of low-intensity exercise on plasma lipids in endurance-trained and untrained young adults

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Abstract
The acute effects of low-intensity exercise on plasma lipids were assessed in 22 healthy, normolipidaemic volunteers [mean age (SEM) 21.1 (0.2) years] of whom 11 were untrained and 11 endurance trained. Each subject walked for 2 h on a treadmill at a speed selected to elicit 30% [29.8 (3.9)%] of his or her maximal oxygen uptake. All subjects consumed a similar diet, i.e. 48% of energy from carbohydrate, for 2 days prior to the test. Pre-exercise, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration was higher in the trained group than in the untrained group [0.88 (0.06) mmol · 1−1 vs 0.73 (0.09) mmol · 1−1,P< 0.05]. The walk elicited an increase in blood lactate concentration (PPP<0.05). In the endurance-trained group HDL cholesterol concentration increased progressively, being 7.9 (2.4)% higher after 1 h and 19.7 (1.6)% higher after 2h. A different response was evident in the untrained group where a rise after the 1st h [25.1 (2.3)%] was followed by a decrease towards pre-exercise values. These results show that one prolonged bout of low-intensity exercise modifies lipoprotein metabolism and hold out the interesting possibility that this response may differ in trained and untrained individuals.