The effect of exercise on lipid profiles and inflammatory markers in lean male adolescents: a prospective interventional study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity improves body composition and inflammatory markers in obese individuals, but little is known about the nonobese population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between exercise and inflammatory cytokines in lean male adolescents in Taiwan. METHODS: This interventional study enrolled a total of 79 normal body weight male adolescents [mean age, 16.8 (1.0) years] from the Army Academy of Taiwan. Body composition and inflammatory markers were measured at baseline and upon completion of a 12-week exercise intervention program. RESULTS: Subjects' postintervention anthropometric measures, including waist circumference [74.6 (5.2)→72.6 (5.2) cm], hip circumference [92.3 (4.1)→89.9 (5.0) cm], body fat mass [10.2 (3.2)→8.2 (3.2) kg], and body fat percentage [15.8% (4.2)→12.6 (4.5)%] declined significantly compared to preintervention (all P<0.001), as did systolic blood pressure (P=0.002) and mean blood pressure (P = 0.020). Postintervention body height and free fat mass increased significantly (both P<0.001). Subjects' postintervention lipids including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides increased significantly (all P<0.001). Inflammatory markers including adiponectin [14.32 (6.68)→31.31 (30.53) µg/mL, P<0.001], interleukin 6 [2.15 (4.81)→2.86 (6.37) pg/mL, P=0.005], and C-reactive protein [1.00 (2.57)→2.30 (4.17) µg/mL, P<0.001] increased significantly postintervention, but not leptin. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise training significantly improves body composition and anti-inflammatory adiponectin levels in lean male adolescents.