[Effect of aromatherapy massage on abdominal fat and body image in post-menopausal women].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy massage on abdominal fat and body image in post-menopausal women.


METHODS
A Non-equivalent control group pre-post test Quasi-experimental design of random assignment was applied. All subjects received one hour of whole body massage as treatment by the same researcher every week for 6 weeks. Participants also massaged their own abdomen two times everyday for 5 days each week for 6 weeks. The two groups used different kinds of oil. The experimental group used 3% grapefruit oil, cypress and three other kinds of oil. The control group used grapeseed oil. Data was collected before and after the treatment using Siemens Somatom Sensation 4, a tape measure and MBSRQ. Data was analyzed by ANCOVA using the SPSS/PC+Win 12 Version.


RESULTS
Abdominal subcutaneous fat and waist circumference in the experimental group significantly decreased after aromatherapy massage compared to the control group. Body image in the experimental group was significantly better after aromatherapy massage than in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that Aromatherapy massage could be utilized as an effective intervention to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat, waist circumference, and to improve body image in post-menopausal women.
Kim
Hee Ja
HJ
Department of Nursing, Wonkwang Health Science College, Korea. jm8711@naver.com
D050153:Abdominal Fat; D019341:Aromatherapy / Q000379:methods*; D001828:Body Image; D032083:Citrus paradisi; D029781:Cupressus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017698:Postmenopause; D014930:Women
D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils