The Exercise-Induced Weight Loss Improves Self-Reported Quality of Sleep in Obese Elderly Women with Sleep Disorders

ABSTARCT Study Objective: Epidemiological studies have shown a direct relationship between the sleep disorders and obesity and self-reported quality of sleep are risk factors for obese elderly women. Thus, the purpose of this research was to study the effect of the aerobic exercise (with the aim of decreasing obesity) on quality of sleep in obese elderly women. Methods: This was a randomized, controlled, trial in which 31 obese elderly women were recruited purposefully from the Preventive healthcare Center and randomly allocated to two groups either aerobic training (3 d/wk. for 12 wk), or a control group. The participants filled out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at the beginning and end of the study to identify sleep problems. All Obesity indexes measures including Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Hip Ratio (WHR), and Percent Body Fat (PBF) were measured using bio electrical impedance analysis. Results: The results suggested that quality of sleep was significantly improved in experimental group, besides, all obesity indexes including BMI, PBF and WHR were significantly improved after exercise intervention (p