Effect of Eight-week Aerobic Exercise and Soybean Consumption on Cardiovascular Function in Postmenopausal Women

Background and Objectives Menopause is associated with cardiovascularcomplications. The present study aimed to determine the effect of eight weeks ofaerobic exercise and soybean consumption on cardiovascular function inpostmenopausal women.Subjects and Methods In this semi-experimental research, 60 postmenopausalwomen living in Andimshek City, Khuzestan province, Iran, were selected bypurposeful sampling and then randomly divided into four groups: 1) soy (n=15), 2)exercise (n=15), 3) combined (exercise+soy, n=15), and 4) control (n=15 people). Theexercise intervention consisted of eight weeks of exercises, three sessions per weekwith an intensity of 50-70% of heart rate reserve. Soy consumption was 80 g ofsoybeans daily. Paired sample t-tests and covariance analysis were used for statisticalanalysis, and the significance level was considered p ≥ 0.05.Results A significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, andresting heart rate was observed in the aerobic and combined exercise groupscompared to the control group (P<0.01). A significant decrease in systolic bloodpressure was also observed in the soy group compared to the control group (P<0.001).Moreover, the decrease in resting heart rate was significantly higher in the aerobic andcombined exercise groups than in the soy group (P<0.001).Conclusion According to the results, it can be said that aerobic exercises and theconsumption of nuts have positive effects on improving cardiovascular function inpostmenopausal women, and the use of both boosts effectiveness in cardiovascularprotection.