Efficacy of diet and exercise in the reduction of serum cholesterol and triglyceride in free-living adult males.

Young males with levels of serum cholesterol or triglyceride in the upper quartile of the distribution for volunteers tested, participated in a program designed to determine the effect of diet and exercise on serum lipids. Dietary modifications involved caloric restriction superimposed on either the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommendations for type II or IV hyperlipoproteinemia, as appropriate, or superimposed on a fat-controlled regimen in which fat of an unspecified nature was restricted to 30% of total calories. Participants with elevated levels of cholesterol responded significantly better when instructed in the diet meeting NIH criteria, 21% change in cholesterol, than when instructed in a diet controlled in fat, 11% change in cholesterol. For those with elevated levels of triglyceride, the NIH type IV diet was no more effective at the end of 6 months than the diet controlled in fat where caloric restriction was a part of both dietary regimens. The mean change in triglyceride for this group was 32%. Those with elevated levels of both cholesterol and triglyceride were less amenable to change than those with a single hyperlipidemia. For some diagnostic types, the results were suggestive of a beneficial effect of exercise in addition to diet in accelerating or maintaining reductions in serum lipids.