The adipokines chemerin and adiponectin are reciprocally related in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and inflammation in obesity. Weight loss increases adiponectin and reduces chemerin, insulin resistance, and inflammation, but the effects of caloric restriction and physical activity are difficult to separate in combined lifestyle modification. We compared effects of diet- or exercise-induced weight loss on chemerin, adiponectin, insulin resistance, and inflammation in obese men. Eighty abdominally obese Asian men (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m(2), waist circumference [WC] ≥ 90 cm, mean age 42.6 years) were randomized to reduce daily intake by ~500 kilocalories (n = 40) or perform moderate-intensity aerobic and resistance exercise (200-300 min/week) (n = 40) to increase energy expenditure by a similar amount for 24 weeks. The diet and exercise groups had similar decreases in energy deficit (-456 ± 338 vs. -455 ± 315 kcal/day), weight (-3.6 ± 3.4 vs. -3.3 ± 4.6 kg), and WC (-3.4 ± 4.4 vs. -3.6 ± 3.2 cm). The exercise group demonstrated greater reductions in fat mass (-3.9 ± 3.5 vs. -2.7 ± 5.3 kg), serum chemerin (-9.7 ± 11.1 vs. -4.3 ± 12.4 ng/ml), the inflammatory marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (-2.11 ± 3.13 vs. -1.49 ± 3.08 mg/L), and insulin resistance as measured by homeostatic model assessment (-2.45 ± 1.88 vs. -1.38 ± 3.77). Serum adiponectin increased only in the exercise group. Exercise-induced fat mass loss was more effective than dieting for improving adipokine profile, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation in obese men, underscoring metabolic benefits of increased physical activity.

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in humans, representing a major public health problem. Few studies have investigated osteoporosis risk factors such as calcium and vitamin D intake, quality of life and body mass index (BMI) among multi-ethnic adults in the Malaysian context. This study aimed to determine the ethnic variation in osteoporosis risk factors among students in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). A cross-sectional study via a self-administrated questionnaire was carried out among 198 respondents aged 19 to 25 years from UMT. The data in the present study included a three -day food record and anthropometric measurements. Nutritionist ProTM analysis software version 5.3 was used to calculate dietary calcium and vitamin D intake from the diet histories, based on the Nutrient Composition of Malaysian Food Database guidance for the dietary calcium intake and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for vitamin D intake. The data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and ChiSquare tests. The findings indicate the median calcium intake was 348.3 mg/day while for vitamin D intake was only 1.37 µg/day. Indian participants had a significantly lower intake level of calcium (243.5 mg/day), followed by Chinese (362.3 mg/day) and Malays (440.4 mg/day). The median vitamin D intakes of Malay, Chinese, and Indian adults were 2.15 μg/day, 1.37 μg/day and 1.14 μg/day, respectively. Furthermore, the BMI among respondents at 20.88 (6.4) kg/m2 categorized as normal weight. It was found that there was no significant difference (p> 0.05) in BMI across ethnicity. Lastly, there was a significant association (p< 0.05) between ethnicity and calcium intake (p = 0.001).