Background and aim: Physical training accompanied with herbal supplement consumption is one of the proposed methods for controlling obesity and its complications, such as diabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an 8-week aerobic exercise program and supplementation with green tea on HSP72 and BMI in obese women with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: In the present semi-experimental study, thirty-five obese women with diabetes (BMI ≥30) with an average age of 60-45 years, were randomly assigned into four groups:  green tea (n=9), aerobic exercise with green tea (n=9), aerobic exercise (n=9) and control (n=8).The participants of supplementation groups received 1500 mg capsules of green tea extract daily for 8 weeks. Moreover, the control groups were given capsules containing roasted wheat flour. Exercises training were performed for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week for 50 minutes per session, with an intensity of 75-60% of maximum heart rate. For statistical analysis, One Way Analysis Variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Tukey t-tests were used.

Results: The results showed that the weight (p=0.000*), body mass index (p=0.000*) and glucose (p=0.064*) were significantly reduced. Furthermore, HSP72 levels were significantly increased in the experimental groups (green tea, green tea, exercise, practice) (p=0.000*), while this difference was not significant in the control group. The consumption of green tea extract had a significant effect in controlling the HSP 72 levels, weight and BMI in the green tea group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: It appeared that consuming green tea supplementation with aerobic exercise can influence and control obesity and increase of HSP72 of type 2 diabetes patients due to weight loss and BMI reduction.