Effects of moderate-intensity combination exercise on increase adiponectin levels, muscle mass, and decrease fat mass in obese women

Obesity is reported to be strongly associated with low levels of adiponectin, which may be involved in metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and cancer cell proliferation. Meanwhile, physical exercise has been reported to increase adiponectin levels and decrease insulin resistance in obese individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to prove the effects of four weeks of moderate-intensity combination exercise (aerobic and resistance) on increasing adiponectin levels, skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and decreasing fat mass (FM) in obese women. A total of 14 obese adolescent women aged 20-24 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 27.5-36.5 kg/m² (based on Asia-Pacific BMI classification) were selected as research subjects and divided into two intervention groups: control (CON) and moderate-intensity combination exercise (MCE) groups. The ELISA kit method was used to analyze pre- and post-exercise adiponectin levels, while the mBCA 554 seca was used to measure BMI, FM, and SMM. Statistical analysis was performed using an independent samples t-test with a 5% significance level. The data showed ∆-BMI between CON and MCE (0.54±0.99 vs -1.31±0.19 kg/m2; p = 0.001), ∆-FM (1.56±3.89 vs -3.60±1.16 kg; p = 0.006), ∆-SMM (-0.85±1.91 vs 3.61±0.74 kg; p = 0.001), ∆-Adiponectin (0.55±2.39 vs 15.45±6.21 ng/mL; p = 0.001). The results demonstrate that a 4-week moderate-intensity combination exercise intervention effectively increases adiponectin levels and skeletal muscle mass and reduces body mass index and fat mass in obese women.