Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 8 weeks moderate intensity aerobic exercise on serum retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels in female athletes.Methods: Twenty female karate athletics were randomly assigned to one of the exercise group (n=10) or control group (n=10). The training group performed endurance training 3 days a week for 8 weeks at an intensity corresponding to 50-60% individual maximum oxygen consumption for 45 min.Results: Body mass and body mass index increased (P<0.05) after 8 weeks aerobic exercise compared to the control group. For waist to hip ratio (WHR), body fat percentage and maximal oxygen consumption there were no significant differences between the exercise group and the control group. There were virtually no changes in body fat percentage, fasting glucose, insulin, insulin resistance and RBP4 levels after 8 weeks training.Conclusion: Serum RBP4 level was not affected by 8-week moderate aerobic exercise in female athletes.

Background: Recent studies have shown that obesity and metabolic disorders are major contributors to heart diseases, and exercise training and proper diets can prevent these diseases. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of continuous and interval training with adenosine consumption on adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in the heart tissue of obese rats. Methods: We randomly divided 56 obese rats with a high-fat diet (40% fat, 13% protein, and 47% carbohydrate) into seven groups, including (1) control, (2) continuous training (CT), (3) high-intensity interval training (HIIT), (4) CT + adenosine consumption, (5) HIIT + adenosine consumption (6), adenosine consumption, and (7) sham. Groups 2 and 4 performed continuous training for 12 weeks, 15 -31 min at 20 -25 m/min, and groups 3 and 5 performed HIIT at 7 -10 one-minute intervals at 31 -55 m/min and six intervals and active rest at 15 -25 m/min. The adenosine consumption groups received adenosine at 0.2 mg/kg daily in the peritoneum. The independent samples t-test, two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Bonferroni's post hoc test were used to analyze the data (P ≤ 0.05). Results: Adenosine consumption decreased the levels of A1 and A2A gene expression (P ≤ 0.05). Continuous and interval training decreased A1 gene expression. The combination of training and adenosine consumption significantly reduced A1 gene expression (P ≤ 0.05). Exercise training and the combination of training and adenosine consumption showed no significant effect on A2A gene expression (P > 0.05). Conclusions: It seems that adenosine consumption decreases the expression of A1 and A2A in the heart tissue of obese rats. Also, training and training with adenosine consumption significantly decrease A1 expression in the heart tissue of obese rats.