Effects of phototherapy plus physical training on metabolic profile and quality of life in postmenopausal women

ABSTRACT

A cluster of metabolic abnormalities are markedly higher among postmenopausal women. The present study evaluated the effects of infrared light emitting diode (LED) during treadmill training on multiple metabolic markers, body fat, dietary habits and quality of life in postmenopausal women. Forty-five postmenopausal women aged 50–60 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and of these, 30 women successfully completed the full study. The three groups were as follows: (i) the LED group, which performed treadmill training associated with phototherapy (n = 10); (ii) the exercise group, which carried out treadmill training only (n = 10); and (iii) the sedentary group, which neither performed physical training nor underwent phototherapy (n = 10). Training was performed over a period of six months, twice a week for 45 min per session at 85–90% of maximal heart rate (HR_max), which was obtained during a progressive exercise testing. The average HR and velocity during treadmill training were 144 ± 9 bpm and 5.8 ± 1.3 km/h for both trained groups. The irradiation parameters were 100 mW, 39 mW/cm² and 108 J/cm² for 45 min. Anthropometric data, skinfolds thickness, biochemical exams (lipid profile, glucose and insulin levels), dietary habits and quality of life were evaluated. The sum of skinfolds significantly improved in the exercise and sedentary groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, there was an improvement in lipid profile, particularly, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, which reduced significantly for all groups (p ˂ 0.05). However, intake of saturated fats was significantly reduced in the sedentary group only (p < 0.05). The quality of life improved in the LED group only, with a significant reduction in the total WHQ score (p < 0.05). Physical training with or without phototherapy may improve the metabolic profile. In addition, phototherapy together with treadmill training prevented an increase in subcutaneous fat and facilitated an improved quality of life in postmenopausal women.

KEYWORDS:

• Body fat
• health
• infrared LED
• treadmill

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the valuable technical assistance graciously provided by PhD Juliana Cristina Milan.

Funding

The authors would like to thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (Grant nos. 2013/07276-1, 2013/14001-9 and 2009/01842-0) for the financial support.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (Grant nos. 2013/07276-1, 2013/14001-9 and 2009/01842-0) for the financial support.