This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Correction  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (60)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letter  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Nutritional and Metabolic Disorders  • Lipids and Lipid Disorders  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

The Tromsø Study

Inger Thune, MD, PhD; Inger Njølstad, MD, PhD; Maja-Lisa Løchen, MD, PhD; Olav Helge Førde, MD, PhD

Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:1633-1640.

Background  Because physical activity may affect risk of certain chronic diseases, we wanted to examine the effects of leisure time physical activity on the metabolic profiles.

Methods  In a population-based cohort study, 5220 men and 5869 women, aged 20 to 49 years at entry, took part in 2 surveys (1979-1980 and 1986-1987) with repeated assessments of self-reported leisure time activity. Measurements of body mass index (measured as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters [BMI]) and levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol (total C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were studied in relation to 4 levels of physical activity.

Results  There was a dose-response relationship between serum lipid levels and BMI, and levels of physical activity in both sexes after adjustments for potential confounders. Differences in BMI and serum lipid levels between sedentary and sustained exercising groups were consistently more pronounced after 7 years than at baseline, especially in the oldest age group. Men reporting sustained very hard exercising compared with sedentary men had lower total C concentrations (5.65 mmol/L vs 6.21 mmol/L [218 mg/dL vs 240 mg/dL]), triglyceride levels (1.34 mmol/L vs 1.85 mmol/L [118 mg/dL vs 164 mg/dL]), total C/HDL-C ratios by 19.0%, and BMI (23.9 kg/m² vs 25.7 kg/m²), and higher HDL-C levels (1.52 mmol/L vs 1.36 mmol/L [59 mg/dL vs 52 mg/dL]). The combined sustained hard and very hard exercising group of women compared with sedentary women had lower total C concentrations (5.70 mmol/L vs 5.90 mmol/L [220 mg/dL vs 228 mg/dL]), triglyceride levels (1.03 mmol/L vs 1.18 mmol/L [91 mg/dL vs 104 mg/dL]), total C/HDL-C ratios by 7.5%, BMI (23.1 kg/m² vs 23.6 kg/m²), and higher HDL-C levels (1.73 mmol/L vs 1.66 mmol/L [67 mg/dL vs 64 mg/dL]). An increase in leisure time activity over the 7 years improved metabolic profiles, whereas a decrease worsened them in both sexes.

Conclusions  Sustained high levels and change from sedentary to higher levels of physical activity relative to sedentary men and women improved the metabolic risk profiles in both sexes. The differences observed are sufficiently large to have a beneficial effect in the prevention of certain chronic diseases.

From the Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED LETTER

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Physical Activity: How Much Is Enough?
Franz H. Messerli, Reinhard G. Ketelhut, Kerstin Ketelhut, Inger Thune, Inger Njølstad, and Maja Lisa Løchen
Arch Intern Med. 1999;159(8):882-883.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

17-{beta}-Estradiol in relation to age at menarche and adult obesity in premenopausal women
Emaus et al.
Hum Reprod 2008;23:919-927.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality
Pedersen et al.
Eur Heart J 2008;0:ehm574v1-9.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Lifetime Recreational Exercise Activity and Breast Cancer Risk Among Black Women and White Women
Bernstein et al.
JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:1671-1679.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Physical activity energy expenditure predicts changes in body composition in middle-aged healthy whites: effect modification by age
Ekelund et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2005;81:964-969.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Metabolic and Hormonal Profiles: HDL Cholesterol as a Plausible Biomarker of Breast Cancer Risk. The Norwegian EBBA Study
Furberg et al.
Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14:33-40.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Intakes of Calcium and Vitamin D Predict Body Mass Index in the Population of Northern Norway
Kamycheva et al.
J. Nutr. 2003;133:102-106.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Obesity, Endogenous Hormones, and Endometrial Cancer Risk: A Synthetic Review
Kaaks et al.
Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2002;11:1531-1543.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Increase in Weight in All Birth Cohorts in a General Population: The Tromso Study, 1974-1994
Jacobsen et al.
Arch Intern Med 2001;161:466-472.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Lewis phenotypes, leisure time physical activity, and risk of ischaemic heart disease: an 11 year follow up in the Copenhagen male study
Hein et al.
Heart 2001;85:159-164.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Television Watching, and Plasma Biomarkers of Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Fung et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2000;152:1171-1178.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Physical Activity: How Much Is Enough?
Messerli et al.
Arch Intern Med 1999;159:882-883.
FULL TEXT