The Amount of Physical Activity According to the Level of High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Korean Adults

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A low level of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) is well known as an important cardiovascular risk factor which is closely associated with physical activity levels. However, there is a very few studies conducted on relationship between physical activity and HDL-C status among Korean adults. METHODS: We selected total 22,294 people aged 19 to 69 years old who had not taken lipid lowering agents from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. The population was classified into three groups using the criteria for HDL-C of Adult Treatment Panel III. The relationship between the physical activity and HDL-C was investigated and the amount of physical activity levels of the three HDL-C groups were obtained with analysis of covariance with adjustments for various factors influencing the physical activity levels. RESULTS: After adjusted for various factors influencing HDL-C, physical activity is significantly associated with HDL-C. As physical activity is increased, HDL-C is much higher (P<0.001).The physical activity levels were significantly different among the three HDL-C groups. The amount of physical activity in low HDL-C group was significantly low compared to high HDL-C group (1653.08+/-65.31 MET-min/wk vs. 1916.70+/-102.86 MET-min/wk, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed that the amount of physical activity level in low HDL-C group was significantly lower compared with that of high HDL-C group in Korean adults.