REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1470947
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Interaction between Health-promoting and Health Risk Behaviors in Health, Volume IIView all 25 articles
The effect of exercise on cardiovascular disease risk factors in sedentary population: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
Liangru Guo1*
Chaochao Wang2- 1School of Sports Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China
- 2School of Physical Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
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Objective: The aim of this study [PROSPERO CRD42023443860] was to determine the dose-response associations of exercise on cardiovascular disease risk factors in sedentary populations using systematic evaluation and meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of the literature up to July 2024 using PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS. Of the 72,704 search records initially identified, 15 studies were considered eligible for systematic evaluation and meta-analysis. The methodological quality of the included literature was assessed using the Cochrane Risk Assessment Tool. Using a random-effects model, we pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for key cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Exercise improved systolic blood pressure [SMD = -0.33 (95% CI, -0.62 to -0.05), p=0.02], diastolic blood pressure [SMD =-0.52 (95% CI, -0.92 to -0.12), p=0.01], and resting heart rate [SMD =-0.30 (95% CI, -0.50 to -0.10), p =0.004]. However, no significant effects were observed for total cholesterol [SMD = -0.03 (95% CI: -0.24 to 0.18), p=0.78], HDL cholesterol [SMD = 0.06 (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.27), p=0.6], LDL cholesterol [SMD = -0.21 (95% CI: -0.59 to 0.18), p=0.29],triglycerides [SMD = -0.11 (95% CI: -0.42 to 0.21), p=0.51], or body mass index [SMD = 0.01 (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.17), p=0.94]. Conclusions: Regular exercise with a duration of 30-40 minutes per session and a frequency of 3-5 sessions per week
Keywords: Exercise, Sedentary, Cardiovascular disease risk factors, physical activity, sedentary time
Received: 26 Jul 2024; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liangru Guo, School of Sports Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China
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