Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association among adiposity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers [high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP), interleukin (IL)‐6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α] and adiponectin and to study the effects of exercise training on adiposity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers among obese male Korean adolescents. Research Methods and Procedures: Twenty‐six obese and 14 lean age‐matched male adolescents were studied. We divided the obese subjects into two groups: obese exercise group (N = 14) and obese control group (N = 12). The obese exercise group underwent 6 weeks of jump rope exercise training (40 min/d, 5 d/wk). Adiposity, insulin resistance, lipid profile, hs‐CRP, IL‐6, TNF‐α, and adiponectin were measured before and after the completion of exercise training. Results: The current study demonstrated higher insulin resistance, total cholesterol, LDL‐C levels, triglyceride, and inflammatory markers and lower adiponectin and HDL‐C in obese Korean male adolescents. Six weeks of increased physical activity improved body composition, insulin sensitivity, and adiponectin levels in obese Korean male adolescents without changes in TNF‐α, IL‐6, and hs‐CRP. Discussion: Obese Korean male adolescents showed reduced adiponectin levels and increased inflammatory cytokines. Six weeks of jump rope exercise improved triglyceride and insulin sensitivity and increased adiponectin levels.

The goal of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (K-GPAQ) and to examine its reliability and validity. The English version of the GPAQ was translated to the Korean language (K-GPAQ) via forward–backward translation. Reliability of the K-GPAQ was evaluated using a one-week interval test–retest method with 115 individuals. Criterion-related validity of the K-GPAQ was examined with 199 participants using accelerometers. Cohen’s kappa and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used to measure test–retest reliability and validity, respectively. A Bland–Altman analysis was used to assess agreement between physical activity (PA) levels measured via K-GPAQ and the accelerometer. Coefficients for the reliability of the K-GPAQ showed moderate agreement for recreational PA and slight agreement for work-related PA (Cohen’s kappa: 0.60–0.67 for recreational PA and 0.30–0.38 for work-related PA and Spearman’s rho: 0.27–0.47 for work-related PA and 0.53–0.70 for recreational PA). Criterion validity of the total amount of PA, as measured by the K-GPAQ and the accelerometer, showed a weak but significant correlation ( r = 0.34, p < 0.01). The K-GPAQ is a reliable and valid questionnaire to measure PA although K-GPAQ overestimated PA levels.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fatness and fitness on insulin resistance (IR) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among Korean adolescents. A total of 322 male high school students participated Departme nt of Sport and Leisure Studies, Yonsei University, Seoup, Republic of Korea Department of Sport and Leisure Studies, Yonsei University, Seoup, Republic of Korea in the cross-sectional part of the study. To determine the interaction of fatness and fitness levels on IR and CVD risk factors, subjects were stratified into four groups based on their body mass index (BMI) and cardio-respiratory fitness. Subjects who were in the high-fat category had significantly higher IR and CVD risk score than subjects in the low-fat category regardless of their fitness level. Subjects who were in high-fat-high-fit group showed significantly lower IR and CVD risk score than high-fat-low-fit group. Twenty-nine obese and unfit subjects participated in the intervention study. Twelve weeks of exercise training significantly reduced body weight (4.11+/-0.75 kg) and improved VO(2max) which resulted in a significant improvement in IR and CVD risk score (2.16+/-0.62 vs. 0.20+/-0.75). Interestingly, improvement in cardio-respiratory fitness and small reduction in body weight in relatively short-term significantly reduced the CVD risk score to the level of low-fat-low-fit subjects. Our results show the importance of fitness in determining IR and CVD risk factors among obese adolescents.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the association among anthropometric measurements, cardiopulmonary fitness, liver enzymes and inflammatory markers including vaspin levels among male adolescents, and (2) the effects of a 12 week aerobic exercise training on insulin resistance, liver enzymes and inflammatory markers including vaspin levels among obese male adolescents were also studied. Methods: We compared anthropometric and metabolic parameters between thirty obese (BMI ≧ 25) and fifteen lean (BMI < 23) male high school students (17.0 ± 0.1 y). Obese male subjects were randomly assigned to either exercise intervention group (OIG, n = 18) or control group (OCG, n = 12). OIG participated in aerobic exercise (5 days/wk) for 12 weeks, while the OCG participated only in regular physical education class. Results: Partial correlation coefficient analysis showed no association between vaspin levels and metabolic parameters including insulin resistance. However, vaspin levels have significantly correlated with intima-media thickness (IMT). Parameters which were significantly associated with insulin resistance were gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and VO2max, while adiponectin levels showed significant association with VO2max and fasting insulin levels. Twelve weeks of exercise training significantly improved insulin resistance with concurrent improvement in adiponectin and GGT without affecting the vaspin levels. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that 12 week of aerobic exercise training significantly improved insulin resistance and metabolic parameters. However, it did not affecting the plasma vaspin levels.