The Effects of Eight Weeks of Aerobic Exercise on Plasma Nesfatin-1, Insulin, Glucose and Insulin Resistance in Obese Women

Obesity is associated with increase the risk of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, aerobic exercise training can play a positive role in preventing metabolic diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic exercise training on plasma nesfatin-1, insulin, and glucose and insulin-resistance in obese women.

The present study was a Semi-experimental-study. Twenty-tow obese women (age 25 ± 2 years and body mass index 30 ± 3.1) were randomly selected from obese women referred to Kerman clubs and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 11) and control (n = 11) groups. Aerobic exercise was including 30 minutes of running based on 50-70% of target heart rate for 8 weeks and 3 days a week performed by the experimental group. The desired variables were measured before and after the exercise protocol. The ANCOVA test was used to analyze the data.

A non-significant-difference was observed in the weight and BMI at the end of the research. Also this study showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in Nesfatin-1. The levels of insulin, glucose and insulin-resistance were significantly lower in the experimental group compared to the control. In addition, aerobic exercise decreased body fat percentage and increased Vo2max in the experimental group compared to the control.

According to the results, it is suggested that obese women use aerobic exercises in order to improve their body fat percentage, aerobic capacity and indicators related to diabetes.