The Effect of an Eight-Week Period of Aerobic Exercise on Plasma Concentration of Ghrelin and Growth Hormone in Young Women

Ghrelin is a peptide which is secreted from human stomach. It has an important role in the secretion of growth hormone, energy balance, obesity, food intake behavior, and some cardiovascular functions. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of an eight-week of aerobic exercise on plasma concentration of ghrelin and GH in non-athletic young women. Twenty young non-athletic women with mean age of 22±2/1 years and mean BMI of 21±1/07 Kg/m2 voluntarily entered the study and they were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. Experimental group conducted an aerobic exercise program three sessions each week and 60 minutes in each session with 70-80% of maximum heart rate for 8 weeks. Control group didn’t exercise. Blood samples were taken 48 hours before the first and after the last session of exercise. Plasma concentrations of ghrelin and growth hormone were measured by ELISA and radioimmunoassay methods, respectively. Data was analyzed by independent samples T test and Pearson correlation test by SPSS(version16). The eight-week period of aerobic exercise caused a significant increase in plasma concentration of ghrelin and a significant decrease in plasma concentration of GH. It can be concluded from the study that exercise-induced increase in plasma ghrelin in response to negative energy balance didn’t stimulate GH secretion, so other mechanisms may be effective in this regard.