Effects of Lifestyle Modifications on Improvement in the Blood Lipid Profiles in Patients with Dyslipidemia

Aim: This study was designed to clarify the difference in the effects of aerobic exercise training and diet on the improvement in the blood lipid profiles in patients with dyslipidemia. Subjects and Methods: The study enrolled 86 patients with dyslipidemia [34 males and 52 females; age, 55 ± 10 years (33 to 71 years); low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), 150 ± 33 mg/dl (74 to 206 mg/dl); high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 54 ± 12 mg/dl (35 to 87 mg/dl) and triglycerides, 165 ± 65 mg/dl (68 to 318 mg/dl)]. The subjects were randomly allocated to exercise training (n=42) or diet (n=44) group. These patients in the exercise training group were instructed to exercise for more than 300 min per week at the lactate threshold intensity. In the diet group, the target caloric intake was 25 kcal/kg of ideal body weight [height (m)2 × 22] according to the guideline of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity. Results: After the 12-week intervention, the LDL-C, triglyceride level and body weight decreased in both the exercise training and diet groups (p<0.05). There was no significant interaction effect for group × time on the LDL-C, fasting triglyceride level or body weight between the groups. The HDL-C increased only in the exercise training group, and a significant interaction effect for group × time was seen between the exercise training and diet groups for the HDL-C levels (p<0.05). Conclusions: Based on our results, an improvement in the HDL-C level was observed in the exercise training group, but not in the diet group, despite the fact that the reductions in the LDL-C, triglycerides and body weight were not significantly different between the two groups. Therefore, these results suggest that lifestyle modification, especially exercise training, is considered to be important to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease through by increasing the HDL-C.