For obese women, exercise plus phototherapy beneficial

(HealthDay)—Exercise training combined with phototherapy is associated with improvements in the metabolic profiles of obese women, according to a study published online July 29 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Marcela Sene-Fiorese, Ph.D., from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues examined the effects of exercise training (aerobic plus resistance exercises) plus phototherapy on metabolic profile and adiponectin in a cohort of 64 obese women. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive exercise training plus phototherapy (ET-PHOTO) or exercise training plus sham (ET-SHAM). Treatment consisted of a physical exercise intervention followed by individual application of phototherapy at the end of the training session; the device simulating the phototherapy application was turned off in the ET-SHAM group.

Comparing the magnitude of the effects for ET-PHOTO versus ET-SHAM, the researchers found that physical training plus phototherapy was more effective for reducing the delta of percentage of fat mass (P < 0.04), fat mass (P < 0.0002), and the homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance index (P < 0.0001). There was also an increase in delta of total skeletal muscle mass (P < 0.003) and adiponectin concentration (P < 0.03).

"Our results demonstrated for the first time that phototherapy enhances the physical exercise effects in obese women undergoing weight loss treatment," the authors write.