Efects of A 12-Week Aerobic Exercise on Back Spine and Thigh Bone Mineral Density in Heavy Women After Menopause

Malihe Movassagbehestani

Physical Education, Sports College, Ankara Gazi Univeristy, Tehran, Iran.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 12-week selective aerobic exercise trial in water on bone density in obese postmenopausal women.Twenty obese post-menopausal women as subject to participate in this study. Subjects randomly divided into an experimental and control group. The experimental group performed selective aerobic training in water for 3 month, first month: 3sessions/wk, second month: 4 sessions/wk and last month: 5 sessions/wk. Each session lasted 90 min with the exercise intensity 65-75% of HRmax in all of sessions. Control group did not participate in any physical activity program during study period. Bone density of lumbar spine and femur were measured in both groups in before and after exercise training period by densitometry method. Also, calcium and phosphorus was measured in same times. Data analyzed with paired and independent samples T-Test. The results of this study indicate that there was a significant increase in femoral bone density in experimental group compared with control group in end of study period (P<0.05). Also, the lumbar spine bone density was increased moderately, but not significantly, in experimental group. On the other hand, calcium and phosphorus levels were not different significantly between experimental group and control group in end of study period­ (P<0.05). The results of this study indicate that one period of selective aerobic exercise trial in water enhanced femoral and lumbar spine bone density in obese postmenopausal women.

KEYWORDS: Osteoporosis; Menopause women; Aerobic exercise; Thigh bone

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