Rahim Mir Nasuri - Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Khorramabad, Iran.
Mohsen Yaghoubi - Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Khorramabad, Iran.
Asadollah Chezani Sharahi - Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Khorramabad, Iran.
Sajjad Ramezani - Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Arak University, Arak, Iran.

Background and Aim: Voluntary activity decreases in the elderly with increasing age, and this activity causes many physical problems and cardiovascular risk factors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ۸ weeks of selected aerobic exercise in water on some cardiovascular risk indicators in overweight elderly men. Materials and Methods: After measuring anthropometric indices, ۳۴ overweight men (۶۴.۸۴±۵.۵۶ years old, body mass index [BMI]≥۲۵ kg/m۲) were randomly selected and divided into water exercise (n=۱۷) and control (n=۱۷) groups. The water exercise group did the aerobic exercise in the water with an intensity of ۴۵% to ۶۵% of maximum heart rate for ۸ weeks. Before and after the intervention, blood samples were taken from all subjects to measure serum levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check the normality of data distribution, and after assuming the normality of the data, the paired t test was used to examine within-group changes and an independent t test for between-group differences. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. The results were evaluated at a significance level of less than ۰.۰۵. Results: Water exercise significantly reduced mean blood pressure (P≤۰.۰۰۱), systolic blood pressure (P≤۰.۰۰۰), TG (P≤۰.۰۰), cholesterol (P≤۰.۰۱), and LDL (P≤۰.۰۲) in elderly men. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the HDL index. Conclusion: Eight weeks of water aerobic exercise can positively reduce cardiovascular risk factors in overweight elderly men. Therefore, these exercises can be recommended by sports and health experts.

Aged, Exercise, Heart disease risk factors, Overweight