BACKGROUND/AIMS: Little is known about whether lifestyle plus exercise intervention improves obesity, metabolic syndrome markers, and circulating adiponectin concentrations in obese girls. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week lifestyle plus exercise intervention on adiponectin and metabolic syndrome markers in Korean obese adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 44 obese adolescent girls (13-15 years old), who were recruited from a local middle school via a flyer or a school newsletter, were randomized to a lifestyle plus exercise intervention group (LIFE+EX, n = 22) or control (CON, n = 22). The LIFE+EX group participated in 12 weeks of lifestyle plus exercise intervention, while the CON group maintained their lifestyle as usual. Body composition, metabolic syndrome markers, and adiponectin were measured prior to and after the intervention program.

RESULTS

Following the 12-week lifestyle plus exercise intervention, group analyses showed significant time x group interactions in changed scores in several of the metabolic syndrome markers such that the LIFE+EX group had significantly greater improvements in body composition including body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio than the CON group. Similarly, the LIFE+EX group had significantly greater reductions in SBP, TC, LDLC, TG, TC/HDLC, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, CRP, and leptin than the CON group, while there were no significant time x group or time or group differences in DBP, HDLC, HbA1c, and adiponectin.

CONCLUSION

The current findings suggest that lifestyle plus exercise intervention may be an effective means to improve several variables in the health hazards of obesity in Korean adolescent girls, with no change in circulating adiponectin.