REPORTED EXERCISE PATTERNS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO LIPID-LEVELS AMONG HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS

There have been few studies concerning the relationship between exerci se habits and lipid levels of older adults. This study examines this r elationship using data from 117 healthy older adults who volunteered t o participate in a health promotion project. Responses to a seven-day activity recall questionnaire, percentage of body fat as measured by b ioelectric impedance, age, and gender were used to predict total chole sterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels. Only the model predicting H DL was significant (R(2)=.15,p=.002). Subsequent regression analyses p redicting HDL levels were limited to persons who participated in one o r more exercise sessions in the previous week. For these active women, the model's ability to predict HDL improved (R(2)=.37,p=.005), with e xercise level having the greatest effect. For the active men, the mode l's predictive ability was not significant. The findings suggest that for active women, level of physical activity does modestly influence H DL levels.