The Effect of Aerobic Training and Ginger Extract on Lipid Profiles, Body Composition and Liver Enzymes in Obese Menopausal Women

Abstract

Objective: The beneficial effects of exercise and ginger extract have been reported to improve obesity-related indicators. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aerobic training and ginger extract on lipid profiles, body composition and selected liver enzymes in obese menopausal women.

Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental trial, 48 obese menopause women (age; 53-58 yr) were randomly divided into 4 groups including control, ginger extract, aerobic training and aerobic training -ginger extract. Aerobic training was performed 3 sessions a week, 60 minutes, with 50-70% maximum heart rate and for 24 weeks. The subjects consumed ginger extract three times a day in 500 mg capsule for 24 weeks. For analyzing the data, twoway ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test was used with SPSS–23 and the significance level was P-value≤ 0.05.

Results: The results showed that 12 and 24 weeks of training, ginger and ginger - training significantly decreased ALT and AST in obese menopausal women (P-value= 0.001). Also, 12- and 24- weeks’ ginger- training resulted to improve of body composition and lipid profile in obese menopausal women (P-value= 0.001).

Conclusion: According to the findings, regular aerobic training and ginger supplementation have a beneficial effect on body composition and improvement of some liver enzymes and lipid profiles in obese menopausal women. These changes were higher in the Ginger-training group after six months of intervention.