How physical activity undertaken through lifespan affects lipid health

While the benefits of exercise has been well documented for lipid health, it remains unclear about the health benefits of exercise undertaken across the lifespan. This study aimed to examine the life-course linkages between exercise and lipid health. This is a longitudinal cohort study with over 3,000 participants from two Chinese cohorts, with around twenty thousand observations. Exercise was assessed via a self-administered questionnaire, and lipid health was assessed using blood test. We applied logistic mixed-effects models to evaluate the overall associations, and Bayesian relevant life-course exposure models to assess the life-course impacts of exercise on dyslipidaemia during adulthood. Our study shows that 5% lower odds of dyslipidaemia can be attributed to each 10 MET-h increase in total exercise volume. The participants undertook light, moderate, and vigorous level of exercise were all associated with significantly lower risks. The life-course section further illustrates that adulthood dyslipidaemia risks reduced 12%-38% for every 10 MET-h increase in exercise undertaken at different life stages. In conclusion, our study found that undertaking increased level of exercise, including time and intensity, all contributed to a lower risk of having dyslipidaemia across the lifespan. The research findings highlight the urgency for age-specific and dimension-tailored exercise programmes for lipid health improvement.