How will exercise affect my cholesterol levels?

How will exercise affect my cholesterol levels?

Jerry Pryde, MD, MPH, CIME (Clinical Chief, Department of Rehabilitation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) gives expert video advice on: Why is it important to exercise if I have arthritis?; Will strength training increase my blood pressure? and more...

A consistent exercise program will affect your cholesterol levels positively. It will increase the percentage of HDL, or high-density lipoproteins, that are found in your body, and decrease the percentage of LDL's, low density lipoproteins, that are found in your body. It's the ratio of those two, HDL over LDL, that we take a look at when we do blood tests on patients to make sure that they have the appropriate levels of HDL and the appropriate levels of LDL. The higher the HDL and the lower the LDL, the better your cholesterol levels are considered to be. The medications that are available, that you see advertised on televison, are what they're trying to accomplish. So, for some people it's necessary to take a blood cholesterol lowering medication as well as an exercise program. Somebody who's relatively young and healthy may be able to accomplish the same thing without taking the medication.