A Cross-Sectional Study Evaluating the Effects of Resistance Exercise on Inflammation and Neurotrophic Factors in Elderly Women with Obesity

Purpose: Aging lowers brain functionality, and obesity accelerates this process. Resistance exercise can help reverse aging; however, studies examining how it affects brain function and body mass are limited. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of resistance exercise on inflammation and neurotrophic factors in elderly women with obesity. Methods: Twenty-six elderly women with obesity were selected for this study and randomly assigned into a control group (CG, n = 13) and an experimental group (EG, n = 13). The EG performed resistance training thrice weekly for 12 weeks using elastic bands, while the CG did not exercise. Serum lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)) and nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-kappa B), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and eotaxin-1 levels were analyzed before and after the intervention. Body composition (soft lean mass (SLM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat mass (BFM), percent body fat (PBF), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), basal metabolic rates (BMR)) measurements and blood tests were performed. Results: Among the body composition variables, SLM, SMM, and BMR in the EG were significantly increased after intervention (p < 0.05). Serum lipid profile was not significantly different after intervention (p > 0.05). After intervention, the levels of NF-kappa B, IFN-gamma, and eotaxin-1 were significantly lower and BDNF and VEGF were significantly higher in the EG than in the CG (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusions: These results imply that regular resistance training in elderly women with obesity can increase muscle mass, reduce inflammation, and stimulate neurotrophic factors.