The Impact of Different Exercise Intensities on Blood Lipid Levels in Overweight and Obese Female College Students: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: To investigate the effects of different exercise intensities on body fat and blood lipid levels in overweight and obese female college students, using a meta-analysis to provide evidence for improving their health. Methods: Five authoritative domestic and international databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and Weipu) were searched. Cochrane tools were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies regarding the impact of exercise on body fat and blood lipids in overweight and obese female college students. A statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 software. Results: Nine studies involving 249 participants were included, comprising three high-intensity exercise studies and seven moderate-intensity exercise studies. Meta-analysis revealed that both high- and moderate-intensity exercise reduced body fat percentage, total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) in obese female college students. Moderate-intensity exercise had significantly greater effects than high-intensity exercise(p = 0.09) on lowering body mass index (BMI, p < 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, p < 0.001). Neither intensity significantly affected high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Conclusion: Moderate-intensity exercise improves body composition by reducing BMI and body fat percentage and improves blood lipid levels by lowering TC, TG and LDL-C in obese female college students. The overall benefits of moderate-intensity exercise are superior to those of high-intensity exercise.