Background:Anti-inflammation and anti-apoptotic effects of physical activity have been proven and its effectiveness depends on intensity, duration and type.
Since obesity is considered as a mild chronic inflammation, it is reasonable that the degenerative damages occurin tissues, especially in the liver as the center of metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two types aerobic training (endurance and high intensity interval training) on markers of hepatocyte apoptosis in rats fed with high fat diet.
Materials and Methods: In an experimental trial, 28 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control-normal diet, control-high fat diet, endurance training-high fat diet and high intensity training-high fat diet.  In the first stage, rats were fed with high fat diet for 13 weeks.Then, they trained for 12 weeks, 5 sessions per week. At the end of the experimental period, the rats were anesthetized and the liver tissue was removed to evaluate the expression of regulatory genes in the pathway of apoptosis.
Results: High intensity training induced significant increase in the expression BAX gene(P=0.001) whereas, there was no significant effects on BCL-2 gene (p=0.06). High intensity training compared with endurance training caused an increase in BAX/ Bcl-2 ratio. Pattern of Caspase-9 changes was similar to the BAX/ BCL-2 ratio.
Conclusion: The results showed that the effect of physical activity on the pathway of hepatocytes apoptosis depends on the type and intensity of training. Therefore, it is recommended to use moderate endurance training to protect the liver from damage caused by high fat diet.