Additional Physical Education and Plasma Lipids and Apoproteins: A 3-Year Intervention Study
A 3-year controlled intervention was used to study the influence of physical activity on the plasma lipid and apoprotein profile of 10-year-old Dutch schoolchildren. Twice-a-year measurements were taken of height, weight, body composition (skinfolds), pubertal development (Tanner stages), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), apoproteins A-I and B (immunoturbidimetry), and participation in physical activities. The effect of the intervention was analyzed with a MANOVA. The intervention did not affect the level of the lipids and apoproteins of the boys. In the girls, the intervention led to a smaller increase of TG and a larger decrease of apoprotein A-I. There may be two explanations for the limited intervention effect. First, it may be due to the healthy baseline plasma lipid and apoprotein profile, which leaves little room for improvement. Second, the exercise intensity during the physical education classes may have been too low to bring about the desired effect.