Gestational diabetes mellitus has been identified as a major complication of pregnancies and has remained a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as maternal morbidity. Lipid abnormalities significantly contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other morbidities in diabetics. One of the benefits of regular exercise is a reduction in cardiovascular risk factors through the improvement of the lipid profile and reduction of hypertension. This study investigated the effect of aerobic training on the cholesterol level of women with gestational diabetes. Thirty-four (34) women who met the inclusion criteria for this study were randomized into Exercise and Control groups. Exercise group participated in structured exercise programme, 3 sessions a week for 8 weeks with each session lasting a maximum of 60 minutes while the Control group did not participate in any form of structured exercise programme for the period of the study. Data were collected at baseline, at 4th week and at 8th week into the exercise programme. Thirty (30) of the participants completed the study and so only their data were analysed using Repeated Measure ANOVA and Independent t-test. The result showed significant changes in the total cholesterol (F[2, 28]) = 268.316, P = 0.001), of the Exercise group compared to the control. Independent t-test used to compare the lipid profile of the Experimental and Control groups showed significant difference between the means of the 2 groups at week 4 (total cholesterol (t(28) 2.164, P = 0 .039, triglyceride [t(28) 3.146 P = 0 .004] and week 8 (total cholesterol t(28) 4.596, P = 0 .001, triglyceride t(28) 5.534, P = 0 .001) but not at baseline (total cholesterol t(28) - 901, P = 0 .375, triglyceride t(28) 1.612, P = 0 .118). It was concluded that structured aerobic exercises may have positive effect on the components of lipid profile in women with gestational diabetes.
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