Protective Effects of Aerobic Intervention on the Profile of Liver Enzymes with Emphasis on AST to ALT ratio in Adult Females with Obesity

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with a high prevalence of chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome and fatty liver. Objectives The current study aimed at evaluating the role of aerobic exercise program on aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as enzymes indicative of fatty liver in adult females with obesity. Methods: Twenty-eight inactive females with obesity matched by age (mean: 37 ± 6 years) and weight (mean: 83 ± 7 kg) were enrolled in the current study and randomly divided into exercise and control groups. Exercise subjects underwent a three-month aerobic exercise intervention (three sessions per week for up to 45 minutes) as running at 60 - 75 of maximum heart rate in fall 2016, Saveh city, Iran. Before and after the intervention, liver enzymes and their ratio as well as anthropometrical markers were measured in the two groups. Statistical tests were applied using independent and paired t-tests (P < 0.05). Results: There was a significant reduction in the mean values of body weight (P = 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.002), body fat percentage (P = 0.001), abdominal circumference (P = 0.001), and visceral fat (P = 0.028) was observed following the aerobic training in the exercise group. No significant change was observed in AST (P = 0.096) and ALT (P = 0.104) levels following the training program in the exercise group. Despite unchanged AST and ALT levels, aerobic training resulted in a significant decrease in AST/ALT ratio in the exercise subjects (P = 0.021). There were no changes in these variables in the control group. Conclusions: With emphasis on improved AST/ALT ratio and obesity indicatives, it was concluded that regular aerobic training can be preventing fatty liver in female adults with obesity.