Propose
Obesity-related metabolic risk factors in adolescents with overweight/obesity may be associated with systemic low-grade inflammation, and therefore we investigated whether a 6-month exercise training altered markers of inflammation.
Methods
Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled exercise-based intervention trial (September 2017 to December 2018). Adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (Tanner stage II to V), 70% girls, with a body mass index (BMI) z-score at or above the 85 th percentile, and/or with excess of adiposity (body fat >30%). The participants were randomly assigned to the following 4 groups for 6 months: (1) standard physical education lessons, as a control (CTRL); (2) high-intensity physical education class (HIPE); (3) low-to-moderate intensity physical education class (LIPE); (4) a combined group (PLUS group). Inflammatory markers and immune molecules including chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors (n=65 biomarkers) were determined by cytokine antibody array.
Results
Of the 120 randomly assigned participants, 95 were included in the analysis. Considering these 22 proteins, the LIPE group shows statistical significance in 9 proteins with logfold-change (logFC) and p<0.05 was found in BLC, Eotaxin, FGF-6, GCP-2, I-309, IGFBP-4, MCP-4, NAP-2, and PARC), followed by the PLUS group in 9 proteins (BLC, EGF, Eotaxin, FGF-6, MCP-4, NAP-2, Osteopontin, PARC, and RANTES), the HIPE group in 7-proteins (FGF-4, FGF-7, GCP-2, IGF-1, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-4, and MIP-1 delta), the CTRL group in 6 proteins (FGF-4, IP-10, Leptin, MCP-1, MIG, and MIP-1 delta). However, sub-analysis performed to detect differentially expressed proteins at baseline and post-intervention, with significance at an adjusted p value ≤ 0.05 and absolute (logFC) ≥ 1.0, shown three down-regulated proteins in the LIPE group (BLC (logFC)= 1.27, Eotaxin (logFC)= 1.18 and MCP-4 (logFC)= 1.14), and four proteins in the HIPE group (BLC (logFC)= 1.45, FGF-6 (logFC)= 1.20, MCP-4 (logFC)= 1.50, and PARC (logFC)= 1.33), supporting that the changes that we observed in the exercise groups were not time-related changes but occurred in response to exercise.
Conclusions
Implementing a 6-month physical exercise program in overweight/obese adolescents, based on LIPE and PLUS groups, significantly change several circulating inflammatory levels. Interventions involving supervised physical exercise may reduce the associated effects of systemic low-grade inflammation, thus preventing the development of obesity-related metabolic diseases in adolescents with overweight/obesity.