Background: Disruption of lipid metabolism threatens human life in all countries with different percentages and causes cardiovascular disease. Reducing physical activity and eliminating some of the food medications have exacerbated these complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ginger supplementation on the lipid profile and body composition of obese women following Pilates exercises.
Methods: This semi-experimental study was carried out at the Medicinal Plants Research Center of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from September to December 2012. In this study, 90 pregnant women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly divided into three groups: complement, placebo and control (30 objects in each group). The exercise protocol includes a ten-week Pilates exercise. The supplement group consumed 2 grams of ginger powder daily for ten weeks. The placebo group used starch (placebo) capsules for these ten weeks. The control group did not take any supplement and did not have any activity at all. Blood samples were taken prior to physical activity and 48 hours after the end of 10 weeks Pilates training three sessions per week (30 sessions). In order to investigate intra-group changes, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare the groups.
Results: The results showed that after 10 weeks of using zinc supplements following Pilates exercise training in pretest and posttest, increases in HDL levels and decreased TG, LDL, Tcol, body composition and body weight in obese women. Also, consumption of 10 weeks of ginger supplement after aerobic exercise training on TG (P=0.001), LDL (P=0.02), Tcol (P=0.05) and HDL (P=0.01) in obese women in supplement and placebo groups had a significant impact.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Pilates exercises with daily consumption of 2 grams of ginger supplement for 10 weeks caused a significant decrease in lipid profiles, body fat percentage, weight, and hip circumference.
