Background: Physical activity and receiving food supplements are the main components of well-being in old age. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of omega-3 fatty acid intake with aerobic exercise on serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and lipid profile among elderly women.

Materials and methods: Randomly, 37 volunteered healthy elderly women (55-80y) were selected and then divided into three groups: aerobic training group (n=13), aerobic training with omega-3 fatty acid group (n=13), and control group (n=11). The first group were under low impact aerobics trainings with 40 to 75 percent of target heart rate for 3 times a week (for eight weeks). The second group consumed 3 gram capsule of omega-3 fatty acids daily along with mentioned trainings. The last group didn’t receive any intervention and just track their daily activities. Blood sampling was performed for all subjects in fast state before starting the study and at the end of the eighth week. The samples measured with specialized kits in the laboratory and then the results analyzed by paired t-test and one-way analyses of variance.

Results: The results showed that CRP values decreased significantly after eight weeks of training (P=0.001). Compared to the control group, this reduction was considerably higher in experimental groups. Also, total cholesterol decreased significantly in experimental groups (P=0.02) after trainings. Other factors such as TG, HDL-C and LDL-C had no changes noticeably.

Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that the combination of this type of aerobic training (low impact aerobic) with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation intake has stronger reductive effect on CRP and total cholesterol levels in elderly women.