Postmenopausal obesity is an important public health concern, accompanied by increased systemic inflammation that heightens the risk of liver disease. Exercise improved both inflammatory and hepatic function. Moderate-intensity intermittent-walking training (MIWT) is considered a feasible approach for postmenopausal women with obesity. This study aimed to investigate whether MIWT could reduce the risk by modulating hepatic enzymes and selected inflammatory markers. Thirty-six sedentary postmenopausal women with obesity (mean age 55.7 ± 3.5 years; mean weight: 86.9 ± 12.2 kg; mean BMI: 34.0 ± 5.0 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to a training group (TG, n = 18) or a control group (CG, n = 18). The TG completed a 10-week MIWT protocol (4 sessions/week, ∼85 min/session), involving repeated walking intervals at 60%-80% of the 6MWT distance with active recovery. As a secondary objective, changes in body composition and aerobic capacity were also assessed. Significant improvements were observed in the TG group in liver enzymes alanine-transaminase (ALT), (p = 0.002, d = 0.29), aspartate-transaminase (AST) (p = 0.013, d = 0.29), gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) (p = 0.036, d = 0.25), total bilirubin (p = 0.009, d = 0.13), and C-reactive-protein (CRP) (p = 0.007, d = 0.49). Additionally, significant reductions were found in body mass (p < 0.001), BMI (p < 0.001), body fat (p = 0.001), and waist circumference (p < 0.001), along with increased aerobic capacity (p = 0.031). These findings indicate that MIWT is a feasible and effective intervention for inducing favorable changes in liver-related biochemical markers and systemic inflammation, with additional benefits for body composition and aerobic fitness in postmenopausal women with obesity.
Abassi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.