Resistance Training Decreases Lipid Content of Different Fat Deposits in Ovariectomized Rats

Ovariectomy (OVX) in female rats leads to increased adiposity that may result in the emergence of obesity-related diseases. Adiposity index has been used in analyses and discussions endeavoring to elucidate the deleterious effects of increased adiposity and possible effects of resistance training (RT) as a treatment capable of preventing fat accumulation induced by OVX.
Investigate the effects of RT on adiposity index and the percentage of visceral fat in intact and ovariectomized rats. Female Wistar rats were distributed in four experimental groups (n = 10 per group): intact sedentary (INT-SED) and trained (INT-RT) groups; ovariectomized sedentary (OVX-SED) and trained (OVX-RT) groups. The rats performed RT for 12 weeks on a vertical ladder with a session performed every 72 hours. Intra-abdominal fat deposits including mesenteric (MES), urogenital (URO) and retroperitoneal (RET) were analyzed. Adiposity index was performed using a gravimetric method and percentage of fat (%) = (∑ (fat depots)/body mass) X 100).
RT in OVX animals decreased relative mass of RET and MES tissues compared to OVX-SED (P Resistance training was able to decrease the adiposity index and percentage of visceral fat RET, MES and URO tissue of OVX rats. Resistance training may be a beneficial, non-pharmacological treatment of obesity, specifically after ovarian hormone deprivation.