Regular Exercise Training as a Principal Non-Pharmacological Method Affects Serum Leptin and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Men with Metabolic Syndrome

Regular exercise training is the principal non-pharmacological method for the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome or other obesity-related diseases. We investigated the effects of aerobic training on leptin and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome.

Twenty-six sedentary middle-aged males with metabolic syndrome aged 40±5 years were randomly assigned to two groups as exercise (aerobic training, n=13) and control (no training, n=13). The exercise programs were performed 3 days a week for 10 weeks at55-75% of HRmax. Fasting blood samples were taken before and after the training period for measuring serum leptin and triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL as cardiovascular risk factors.

No significant differences were observed between groups concerning anthropometric and clinical markers at baseline (p>0.05). Aerobic intervention resulted in significant decrease in anthropometric markers (abdominal circumference, body mass index, body fat percentage; p<0.05), serum leptin (p=0.026), TG (p=0.001) and HDL (p=0.032) in exercise group, but significant changes were not found in TC (p=0.522) and LDL (p=0.546). There were no changes in all measured variables in the control group.

Based on our finding, it seemsthat regular aerobic exercise is associated with improved serum leptin and cardiovascular function in patients with metabolic syndrome.