In physique athletes undergoing a 5-month fat-loss phase with reduced energy intake and increased exercise, serum HDL cholesterol, HDL particle number, and HDL particle size increase significantly, while VLDL triglycerides and low-grade inflammation markers decrease, indicating a transient improvement in cardiometabolic profile associated with reduced android fat mass.

When body fat, especially around the abdomen, decreases due to prolonged calorie restriction and increased exercise, the body breaks down fat particles in the blood more efficiently. This releases cholesterol and other fats that get added to HDL particles, making them larger and more numerous. At the same time, the reduced fat tissue stops sending out signals that cause inflammation, lowering markers of systemic inflammation. These changes improve the blood's ability to remove cholesterol and reduce artery-damaging particles.