Investigating Blood Lipid Profile and Insulin Resistance Index in Middle Aged Overweight Women who Do Yoga and Aerobics

Since active life style causes metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors to be decreased and considering the increased incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in the middle age, the present study aimed to investigate the blood lipid profile and insulin resistance index among middle aged overweight athletic women in rhythmic aerobics and yoga.
In this descriptive study, 42 over-weight middle-aged women in three groups of 14, including yoga and rhythmic aerobics athletes and sedentary women were selected through purposive sampling, from fitness clubs of Tehran city in 2015. Anthropometry characteristics, blood lipid profile, and insulin resistance index were measured. The study variables were compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test.
Plasmatic levels of triglyceride (p=0.038), total cholesterol (p=0.006), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p=0.025), fasting glucose (p=0.031), and insulin resistance index (p=0.001) were significantly lower and levels of high- density lipoprotein cholesterol were sinificantly higher in the rhythmic aerobics and yoga groups compared with the sedentary women (p=0.019). Nevertheless, in the aerobics group, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were significantly lower than the yoga group (p Both rhythmic aerobics and yoga programs proved to be effective in reducing risk factors of the cardiovascular and metabolic disease. It seems that yoga program has a more effective role in reduction of some cardio-metabolic risk factors such as triglyceride and total cholesterol levels than the rhythmic aerobics.