Introduction: Obesity participates in the progression of systemic inflammation and cardiovascular
disorders. We aimed to assess the impacts of aerobic training on serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and
risk factors for cardiovascular dysfunction in obese women.
Methods: Physically inactive, obese women matched for age (38 ± 5 years) and body mass
index (BMI) (30 ≤BMI ≤36 kg/m2) were randomly divided into exercise (moderate aerobic
training, 6 weeks, 3 d/wk, n = 13) and control (no training, n = 13) groups. Pre- and post-training
measurements of anthropometric markers, serum IL-6 and cardiovascular risk factors were
done. Within and between groups comparisons were performed by paired sample t-test and
independent sample t test, respectively.
Results: Aerobic training induced significant decreases in body weight, BMI, body fat (%) and
abdominal obesity as anthropometric markers (P < 0.05). Compared to pre-training condition,
serum IL-6, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
(LDL-C) showed no alterations by aerobic training in the exercise group (P > 0.05). However,
participants in the aerobic training group revealed a significant increase in high-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and a decrease in TG/HDL and LDL/HDL (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Short-time aerobic training does not appear to contribute to circulating serum levels
of IL-6 in obese females; however, it affects lipid profile and may be considered as a beneficial
non-pharmaceutical intervention against cardiovascular diseases in obese women.
The Effects of a Short Term Aerobic Training on Biochemical Cardiovascular Risk Factors and IL-6 in Obese Females
