EFFECT OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ON SELECTED HEALTH RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS COMPONENTS, PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND LIPID PROFILE OF MEKELLE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on selected health related physical fitness components, physiological parameters and lipid profile of Mekelle University students. To achieve the objective of this study 20 male students were selected purposely from the total population of 35 aged between 19 and 22. Informal experimental design was used to conduct this study. The exercise training was designed for twelve weeks, three days per week, and the duration was 40, 50, 60 minutes per session with moderate intensity (55-69HRmax). Each session had warming up, stretching exercise, main part (aerobic exercises) and cooling down. Throughout the study jumping ropes, stop watch, digital tabletop, pentra 400, tread mill, test tube, stationery cycle bike, ruler and tape meter were used during test and training. The training and field test were held at Mekelle University main campus. The laboratory measurements were conducted in Ayder comprehensive specialized hospital. 5ml blood sample was collected from the participants before and after the aerobic exercise to measure the total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software and paired “T” test was used to compare the pre and posttest results. The level of significance was fixed at (P≤0.05). Based on the analysis made, it was observed that twelve weeks aerobic exercise led to positive significant change in measurement value of body mass (59.65 ± 5.11 and 55.05 ± 4.08), flexibility (9.05 ± 5.62 to 13.25 ± 5.08), body composition (20.02 ± 1.15 to 18.44 ± 0.99), cardiovascular endurance (2770.75 ± 367.86 to 3093.15 ± 275.09), diastolic blood pressure (68.9 ± 6.28 to 65.3 ± 5.02), systolic blood pressure (122.85 ± 9.84 to 114.1 ± 5.35), resting heart rate (71.35 ± 6.72 to 64.05 ± 5.88), total cholesterol (116.6 ± 17.94 to 102.45 ± 15.32), triglyceride (91.6 ± 15.28 to 82.25 ± 13.49), high density lipoprotein (38.2 ± 6.56 to 41.05 ± 3.79) and low density lipoprotein (59.9 ± 15.14 to 45.25 ± 13.45). In general aerobic exercise decreases body mass, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, total cholesterol, body composition, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein. Aerobic exercise also improves flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and high density lipoprotein.