EFFECTS OF EXERCISE INTERVENTION ON SERUM LEPTIN, CELLULAR IMMUNE FUNCTION, BODY MASS INDEX AND EXERCISE ABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH OBESITY

Qinghe Li^{1, 2}, Haiyong Ding^{1, *}

¹School of Physical Education and Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, PR China - ²Department of Basic Education, Nan Tong Shipping College, Nantong, PR China

Objective: To investigate the influence of exercise on serum leptin, cellular immune function, body mass index and exercise capacity in obese patients. 

Methods: Eighty obese patients admitted to the endocrinology department in our hospital from November 2017 to June 2018 were enrolled. They were equally and randomly divided into an exercise-intervention group (activity treatment) and a basic-intervention group (medication treatment). Serum leptin, visfatin, and resistin levels, as well as body weight, body mass index (BMI), cellular immune function, and time-to-exhaustion times were compared pre- and post-intervention between the two groups. 

Results: Serum leptin and resistin levels in both the exercise- and basic-treatment groups were significantly lower than pre-treatment levels, and both group dylinin levels were significantly higher post-treatment compared to pre-treatment. Exercise-treatment levels of leptin and resistin were significantly lower than those in the basic-treatment group, and dyslipidin levels were significantly higher after exercise treatment compared to basic treatment. Both groups showed significantly lower body weights after their treatments, but weight reduction in the exercise-treatment group was significantly higher than in the basic-treatment group. BMI values for both groups was significantly lower after their treatments, but BMI reduction in the exercise-treatment group was significantly more than in the basic-treatment group. Post-treatment index values for both the thymus and spleen in the two groups were significantly higher than pre-treatment values, and both indices were significantly higher in the exercise-treatment group compared to the basic-treatment group. Time-to-exhaustion, a measure of exercise capacity, increased significantly in both groups after treatment, but this measure was significantly longer in the exercise-treatment group compared to the basic-treatment group.

Conclusion: Exercise treatment can effectively regulate the levels of serum adipokines (leptin, dyslipidin, and resistin), improve cellular immune function, significantly reduce an obese patient's BMI, and prolong their time-to-exhaustion.