The effect of aquatic exercises on inflammatory markers of cardiovascular disease in obese women

Abstract

Aims: the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aquatic exercises on inflammatory markers of cardiovascular (homocysteine, C-reactive protein [CRP], and fibrinogen) in obese women. Materials and Methods: It was a semi-experimental with pre- and posttest design. Thirty-seven obese women volunteered to participate in the research, of which 28 had inclusive criteria for research. The age of participants ranged from 35 to 40 years and their body fat percentage was above 30%. The exercise protocol included a combination of resistance, stretching, and balance exercises that were carried out three sessions a week for 10 weeks. Statistical Analysis Used: Paired t-test and independent test were used to analyze the data. Results: The results suggested that homocysteine, CRP, and fibrinogen indices of obese women were significantly improved following combined aquatic exercises (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, a significant decrease in body fat percentage with improvement of cholesterol and systolic blood pressure were found in experimental group (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: The overall result was that combined aquatic exercises would not only attenuate cardiovascular risk factors such as homocysteine, fibrinogen, and CRP but also improve the other cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, cholesterol, and blood pressure.