Changes in Liver Enzymes After the Implementation of Astrand and RAST Tests in Overweight Individuals

Overweight people are more vulnerable to developing fatty liver disease, moreover; they are more likely to have increased serum liver enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase than others. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in liver enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase after doing exhaustive aerobic and anaerobic exercises in active overweight male students.

In this semi-experimental study, 45 overweight male students were randomly divided into aerobic (n=15), anaerobic (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. In aerobic group: first, a study was performed on the Astrand aerobic test (including running on a barrel at speeds of 5 to 8 miles per hour with a gradient of 3 minutes, and after 3 minutes, every 2 minutes, a steep gradient of 2.5%, a constant speed, and a fatigue), the subjects of the anaerobic group performed the Rast anaerobic test (including 6 fast-paced repetitions at 35 meters distance and maximum severity, with a rest interval of 10 seconds in each repetition). The control group was without any intervention. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test.

The results indicated a noteworthy increase in ALP and LDH values of the three groups in the aerobic and anaerobic exercise groups (P=0.3, P=0.6). However, although AST and ALT were increased by aerobic and anaerobic exercise, there was no significant difference between the three groups (P=0.02) (P=0.01).

There was an evident increase in the serum levels of ALP, AST, ALT and LDH as an indicator of liver damage in overweight people, which are more vulnerable to fatty liver disease. Therefore, according to the achieved results, aerobic exhausting exercise could be a more appropriate exercise for the overweight.