Aerobic and resistance training and plasma lipids
Näytönastekatsaukset
24.9.2026
Level of evidence: B
Aerobic exercise probably produces small reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides and small increases in HDL cholesterol in adults with or without cardiovascular risk factors. Resistance training probably produces small reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Combined aerobic and resistance training probably results in small increase in HDL cholesterol and small reduction in triglycerides.
| Reference | Study type | Population | Intervention and comparison | Outcomes | Risk of bias «Additional comments for included studies»2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| «Chen Z, Zhou R, Liu X, ym. Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Blood Lipids in People with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Life (Basel) 2025;15»1 | SR, MA | All participants were overweight or obese. Included females and males, age 11–75. Studies from Asia, Europe, South America | All studies were RCTs of aerobic exercise (AE). Low intensity AE: 20-40% VO₂max /40-55% HRmax/ 1,6-3 MET/RPE 8-10. Moderate-intensity AE: n. 40–60 % VO₂max / 55–70 % HRmax / 3–6 MET / RPE 11–13. Vigorous-intensity AE: n. 60–85 % VO₂max / 70–90 % HRmax / 6–9 MET / RPE 14–16. Comparison: control / usual care | Total Cholesterol (TC) HDL Cholesterol (HDL) LDL Cholesterol (LDL) Triglycerides (TG) | Low |
| «Kelley GA, Kelley KS. Impact of progressive resistance training on lipids and lipoproteins in adults: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Prev Med 2009;48(1):9-19 »2 | MA | Adults ≥18 years, sedentary or insufficiently active, healthy or with overweight/obese, type 2 diabetes, CVD history, metabolic abnormalities. United States, China, UK, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, and Turkey | RCTs. Intervention: progressive resistance training: duration 8–78 weeks (mean ~24 weeks), frequency 2–3 sessions/week, intensity 50–87% of 1RM, number of exercises 3–16, sets 1–5. Comparison: non-exercising control groups. | Primary fasting lipid outcomes: Total cholesterol (TC) HDL-C LDL-C Triglycerides (TG) Non-HDL-C TC/HDL-C ratio | Moderate |
| «Lin X, Zhang X, Guo J, ym. Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J »3 | Active or sedentary healthy or with overweight, dyslipidemia, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes or hypertension Aged ≥18 years. North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia | RCTs. Interventions included structured exercise training, categorized as aerobic exercise training (walking, running, cycling, swimming, ergometer work, cross-training),resistance training,combined aerobic + resistance training. Training duration 4-52 weeks, at intensities aligned with ACSM guidelines. Comparison: non-exercising control groups. | Total cholesterol (TC) Triglycerides (TG) High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) | Low | |
| «Masmoum MD, Khan S, Usmani WA, ym. The Effectiveness of Exercise in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus 2024;16(9):e68928 »4 | SR, MA | Adults ≥18 years with or without cardiovascular risk factors. United States, Portugal, Korea, the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, the Philippines, Norway, Brazil, and Germany | 11 RCTs and 6 cohort studies. Interventions included aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, or combined training, with durations 6-12 months (RCTs) or follow-up from 8 weeks to 1 year (cohort studies). Comparison: no exercise, usual care. | Primary: reduction in cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke); secondary: changes in cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index) | Moderate |
| «de Oude KI, Elbers RG, Gerger H, ym. The effect of different resistance exercise training intensities on cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Heart J Open 2025;5(5):»5 | SR, MA | Participants had one of the following cardiometabolic risk conditions: type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity. Included females and males, age 21–87. Studies from Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Oceania, Africa. | All studies were RCTs of resistance training. Interventions were categorized by intensity (the main theme of the review): low intensity: <60% 1RM, moderate intensity: 60–80% 1RM, high intensity: >80% 1RM, progressive intensity: 50–100% 1RM. Comparison: control / usual care | Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) | Moderate |
| «Liang L, Peng F, Wang L, ym. Effects of exercise on high-density lipoprotein levels in middle-aged and older individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2025;104(6):e41493»6 | Adults (≥45 years). with or without stable chronic conditions (e.g., obesity, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease). United States, Brazil, Japan, Korea, China, European. | Interventions included aerobic exercise, resistance training, stretching, or combined training. Duration 4-52 weeks, 1-6 times/week, delivered in structured supervised or unsupervised formats. Comparison: non-exercise control groups. | HDL-cholesterol | Low | |
| «Kodama S, Tanaka S, Saito K, ym. Effect of aerobic exercise training on serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: a meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med 2007;167(10):999-1008 »7 | MA | Adults ≥18 years with or without cardiovascular risk factors. North America, Europe, and Japan | RCTs. Intervention: aerobic exercise training (i.e.walking, jogging, cycling, continuous swimming). Mean 3.7 sessions per week, session duration of 40.5 minutes, mean relative intensity ~65% of maximal aerobic capacity, and absolute intensity ~5.3 METs, corresponding to an estimated weekly energy expenditure ~1019 kcal. Comparison: non-exercising control groups. | HDL-C | Moderate |
| RCT=randomized controlled trial; SR=systematic review; MA=meta-analysis; VO₂max=; HRmax=maximal heart rate; MET=metabolic equivalents. RPE=rating of perceived exertion; TC=total cholesterol; LDL-C=low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL-C=high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG=triglycerides; ACSM=American College of Sports Medicine | |||||
Results
References
- Chen Z, Zhou R, Liu X, ym. Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Blood Lipids in People with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Life (Basel) 2025;15(2): «PMID: 40003575»PubMed
- Kelley GA, Kelley KS. Impact of progressive resistance training on lipids and lipoproteins in adults: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Prev Med 2009;48(1):9-19 «PMID: 19013187»PubMed
- Lin X, Zhang X, Guo J, ym. Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Am Heart Assoc 2015;4(7): «PMID: 26116691»PubMed
- Masmoum MD, Khan S, Usmani WA, ym. The Effectiveness of Exercise in Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus 2024;16(9):e68928 «PMID: 39381478»PubMed
- de Oude KI, Elbers RG, Gerger H, ym. The effect of different resistance exercise training intensities on cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Heart J Open 2025;5(5):oeaf093 «PMID: 40980719»PubMed
- Liang L, Peng F, Wang L, ym. Effects of exercise on high-density lipoprotein levels in middle-aged and older individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2025;104(6):e41493 «PMID: 39928779»PubMed
- Kodama S, Tanaka S, Saito K, ym. Effect of aerobic exercise training on serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: a meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med 2007;167(10):999-1008 «PMID: 17533202»PubMed