Progressive aerobic exercise in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress markers in older adult Korean women with obesity

Abstract

Background/objectives

South Korea is rapidly transitioning into a super-aged society, where women not only outnumber men, but also have longer life expectancy. However, older adult women in Korea engage in significantly less regular physical activity than their male counterparts. This study aimed to examine the physiological mechanisms through which a 16-week progressive aerobic exercise program affected chronic inflammation and oxidative stress associated with aging in older adult women with obesity.

Methods

We randomly assigned 28 women aged ≥70 years with obesity to either an obesity exercise group (OEG) or an obesity control group (OCG). The OEG participated in a supervised aerobic exercise program three times per week for 16 weeks, with intensity progressively increasing. To analyze the effects of the intervention over time and between groups, a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted. Within-group comparisons across time points were performed using paired t-tests, and between-group comparisons at each time point were analyzed using independent t-tests.

Results

The OEG demonstrated a greater reduction in serum chemotactic chemokine biomarker CCL11 concentration than the OCG. The pattern was consistent across participants, suggesting that regular, progressively intensified aerobic exercise may help suppress pro-inflammatory chemokine expression, particularly that of CCL11, in older adult women with obesity.

Conclusions

A 16-week program of progressive aerobic exercise effectively reduced systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in older adult women with obesity, while potentially enhancing antioxidant defense. CCL11 reduction may reflect anti-inflammatory adaptations and potential neuroprotective benefits. These findings support aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacological strategy to manage age-related physiological decline.