Steven Lewis

The distribution of plasma lipoproteins in middle-aged male runners*†

Stimulated by increasing evidence of an inverse relationship between plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and frequency of coronary heart disease, we determined concentrations of fasting plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and lipoproteins in 41 very active men (running greater than 15 miles/wk for the previous year) 35-59 years of age (mean age, 47) and in a comparison group of men of similar age, randomly selected from three northern California communities. The runners had significantly (p less than 0.05) decreased mean plasma triglyceride (70 versus 146 mg/100 ml), total plasma cholesterol (200 versus 210 mg/100 ml), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (125 versus 139 mg/100 ml) concentrations, and a higher mean level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (64 versus 43 mg/100 ml) than the comparison group (n equals 147 for HDL and LDL; n equals 743 for total cholesterol and triglycerides). These very active men exhibited a plasma lipoprotein profile resembling that of younger women rather tan of sedentary, middle-aged men. This characteristic, and apparently advantageous, pattern could be only partially accounted for by differences in adiposity between runners and control subjects.

PLASMA LIPOPROTEIN DISTRIBUTIONS IN MALE AND FEMALE RUNNERS

Recent studies have shown a consistent association between relatively low plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and increased risk of coronary heart disease. A cross-sectional comparison was made of the distribution of plasma lipids and lipoproteins in groups of 41 male and 43 female long distance runners versus larger control groups matched for age and sex, randomly selected from northern California towns. The runners showed modestly lower total cholesterol concentrations, while their triglyceride levels were only 50% of control. HDL-cholesterol was higher in runners than controls (75 +/- 14 vs 56 +/- 14 mg/100 ml for women; 64 +/- 13 vs 43 +/- 10 for men), while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower (113 +/- 33 vs 124 +/- 34 for women; 125 +/- 21 vs 139 +/- 32 for men). All differences were statistically significant (p less than 0.05), and only partially attributable to known factors other than high physical activity level. Since the runners were predominantly normotensive, relatively lean, and exclusively nonsmokers, they appear to constitute a remarkably favored group with respect to risk of cardiovascular disease.

Transfer effects of endurance training to exercise with untrained limbs

SummaryThere has been a controversy over whether the increases in maximal oxygen uptake (n

Prior Exercise and Circulorespiratory Endurance

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Effects of physical activity on weight reduction in obese middle-aged women.

nO2 max) and reductions in heart rate at a given submaximal workload after endurance training are limited to exercise with trained limbs or also may be observed during exercise with untrained limbs. In the present study five initially very sedentary young men trained by leg cycling (LT) and five by arm cranking (AT) 30 min per day on 4 days a week for 11 weeks at an intensity ≥75–80% n

Natural Gas and Geopolitics: Liquefied natural gas from Indonesia: the Arun project

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