Physical activity and lipid profile in adolescents: a systematic review of observational studies

The scope of this review was to summarize the results of observational studies that analyzed the relationship between physical activity (PA) and its parameters and lipid profile components in adolescents of both sexes, aged from 10 to 19 years and without restriction as to where the study was carried out. Searches were conducted in Scopus; Web of Science; PubMed; SciELO and LILACS, in English, Spanish and Portuguese, between January 2008 and May 2021 (PROSPERO: CRD42020165650). The Methodological quality of the studies was assessed using a 17-item checklist. A total of 79 studies were included, 36 of which (45.6%) had high methodological quality. PA was associated with lower levels of non-HDL-c and TC/HDL-c in the cross-sectional studies; while the lowest TG and highest HDL-c values were observed in the high-quality longitudinal studies. Analysis of PA parameters revealed an inverse relationship between the number of steps and total cholesterol (TC) and a positive association between leisure-time PA, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and HDL-c, in the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, respectively. Adolescents who perform PA more often tend to have better concentrations of some components of the lipid profile, especially HDL-C, due to the practice of MVPA

Keywords:
Motor activity; Adolescence; Risk factors; Dyslipidemia