BY JACK ANDERSON and DOUGLAS COHN

Need another reason to exercise? Scientists have discovered it makes cholesterol less dangerous.

A new study found that even modest exercise changes the size and density of cholesterol-carrying proteins so they do less damage. And the benefits occur even if people's total amount of cholesterol and their weight stay the same.

Staying active has many health benefits, but improving cholesterol is not usually considered one of them. People who exercise often lose weight, and while that can improve their cholesterol levels, exercise by itself was thought to have little or no effect.

Workouts fail to lower LDL, the dangerous form of cholesterol, and only rigorous exercise can nudge up HDL, the good form that protects against heart attacks. But the study, by William Kraus of Duke University, found a new way that exercise can affect cholesterol -- by altering the number and size of the particles that carry cholesterol through the blood.

"People in the exercise field have always wondered why it doesn't affect total cholesterol and LDL," he said. "We always knew low levels of exercise are helpful. This helps solve that paradox."

http://www.sltrib.com/11082002/nation_w/14668.htm