The Effect of Eight Weeks of Resistance Training and Soy Milk Consumption on Lipid Profile, Body Composition and Some Factors of Physical Fitness of Elderly Women in Yasuj

Soy milk is a appropriate source of protein for the elderly as a result of its high absorption rate and amino acids. The present study was performed to determine and evaluate the effect of eight weeks of resistance training and soy milk consumption on lipid profile, body composition and some physical fitness factors in elderly women.

In the present semi-experimental study, 48 elderly women (age 65±2.2 years) in Yasuj, Iran, were selected by targeted sampling method and at that point randomly divided in four groups of resistance training + soy milk (n=12), resistance training + placebo (n=12), soy milk (n=12) and placebo (n=12). Forty-eight hours before and after the intervention, body composition tests, physical fitness and blood samples were taken. Data analysis was performed using dependent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance and LSD follow-up test at a significance level of less than 0.05.

After eight weeks, weight, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, TG, TC and LDL-C significantly decreased in the intervention groups, but HDL-C significantly increased (p<0.05). It is worth noting that only in the resistance training + soy milk and resistance training + placebo groups, the percentage of fat decreased and the strength of the upper limbs, the strength of the lower limbs and the maximum oxygen consumption increased significantly (p<0.05).

It seems that resistance training and consumption of soy milk as a non-pharmacological method can be an effective factor in preventing and promoting the health of elderly women by improving lipid profile, body composition and physical fitness