The Effect of Rope Training on the Plasma Level of Angiopoietin-4, Interleukin-6, and Lipid Profile of Overweight Boys

Childhood obesity can be the cause of many obesity-related diseases in adulthood. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks rope training on the plasma level of angiopoietin-4 (ANGPT4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and lipid profile of overweight students.

A sample of 39 overweight students, with the mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.09±3.20 kg/m2 and the mean age of 10.77±1.11 years, was selected and randomly divided into two intervention (n=20) and control (n=19) groups. The intervention group performed rope exercises for eight weeks, three sessions per week (40 minutes per session). Blood samples were collected and ELISA assay was performed to measure the biochemical variables, and analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data at a significance level of P<0.05.

Eight weeks of rope training resulted in an increase in ANGPT4 (P=0.006) and a decrease in IL-6 level (P=0.001) in overweight children. Cholesterol (P=0.03) and blood triglyceride (TG) (P=0.05) levels significantly decreased in the intervention group, but there was no significant difference in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels between the two groups. Eight weeks of rope training had a significant effect on the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) of overweight children (P=0.001), whereas BMI changes were not significant (P=0.18).

It seems that exercise training in obese children, by improving ANGPT4 and decreasing cholesterol and TG levels, improves the body metabolic status and WHR.