regular exercise training as a principal non- pharmacological method affects serum leptin and cardiovascular risk factors in men with metabolic syndrome

Background and aim: regular exercise training is the principal non-pharmacological method for the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome or other obesity-related diseases. we investigated the effects of aerobic training on leptin and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome. methods: twenty-six sedentary middle-aged males with metabolic syndrome aged 40 ± 5 years were randomly assigned to two groups as exercise (aerobic training, n =13) and control (no training, n =13). the exercise programs were performed 3 days a week for 10 weeks at 55-75% of hrmax. fasting blood samples were taken before and after the training period for measuring serum leptin and triglyceride (tg), total cholesterol (tc), ldl, and hdl as cardiovascular risk factors. results: no significant differences were observed between groups concerning anthropometric and clinical markers at baseline (p>0.05). aerobic intervention resulted in significant decrease in anthropometric markers (abdominal circumference, body mass index, body fat percentage; p < 0.05), serum leptin (p = 0.026), tg (p = 0.001) and hdl (p = 0.032) in exercise group, but significant changes were not found in tc (p = 0.522) and ldl (p = 0.546). there were no changes in all measured variables in the control group. conclusion: based on our finding, it seems that regular aerobic exercise is associated with improved serum leptin and cardiovascular function in patients with metabolic syndrome.