High fat diet (30 % fat) was used to induce obesity in rats. Male wistar rats were kept at high
fat diet for 90 days and subjected to partial abdominal aortic constriction (PAAC) at 62nd day and continued
upto 90th day. Similarly rats were kept at high fat diet for 90 days and subjected to chronic swimming
training (CST) at 46th day and continued upto 90th day. Obesity was assessed by measuring body weight,
WHR ratio, obesity index and adiposity index. Cardiac hypertrophy was assessed by measuring left ventricular
weight, left ventricular weight to body weight, left ventricular wall thickness, cardiomyocyte diameter,
left ventricular protein content and left ventricular collagen content. Mean arterial blood pressure
(MABP) was also recorded. Oxidative stress was assessed in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive species
(TBARS) level, superoxide anion generation level and reduced glutathione level in left ventricular tissue.
Obesity, cardiac hypertrophy and oxidative stress were increased in high fat diet groups. Orlistat, lipase
inhibitor, significantly attenuated the impact of obesity in experimental cardiac hypertrophy. Furthermore
orlistat significantly attenuated the oxidative stress. So it can be concluded that by decreasing the
impact of obesity, orlistat significantly attenuated the extent of cardiac hypertrophy.