Background: The current pilot study was carried out to examine the effect of aerobic exercise on Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium as a function of weight loss and cytokine changes in overweight women.
Material and methods: Eighteen women with excessive weight (age = 19-30 years) were randomly assigned into exercise (10 weeks, aerobic exercise training, 3 sessions/week) and control groups. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in stool and inflammatory factors in blood were evaluated before and after the intervention.
Results: The intervention induced significant improvements in body weight and in VO2 peak. There were significant time effects on Lactobacillus (p = .016) and significant time*exercise interaction effects on Bifidobacterium (p = .025). Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium changes were negatively associated with body weight and IL-6 levels, respectively.
Conclusions: The current results indicate that exercise training associated with weight loss can increase specific bacteria in people with excessive weight. Changes in Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were not significantly associated with cytokines.
Keywords: Gut bacteria; aerobic exercise; cytokine; excessive weight.