Combined resistance and aerobic exercise training reduces insulin resistance and central adiposity in adolescent girls who are obese: randomized clinical trial

Exercise training is recommended for improving health and protecting against the development of metabolic and cardiovascular pathologies. Combined resistance and aerobic exercise training (CRAE) has been shown to provide unique benefits in older adults with cardiovascular diseases. We sought to determine the beneficial effects of CRAE in adolescent girls who are obese and hyperinsulinemic. Forty adolescent girls who are obese (age 14.7 +/- 1 years; BMI 30 +/- 2) were randomly assigned to a "no exercise" (CON n = 20) or combined exercise group (EX n = 20). The EX group performed resistance and aerobic exercise for 12 weeks, 5 times per week. Exercise intensity was increased gradually, from 40 to 70% of heart rate reserve (HRR), every 4 weeks. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), blood leptin, adiponectin levels, and body composition were measured before and after the 12-week intervention. We observed that CRAE effectively reduced the body fat percentage, body weight, and waist circumference in the EX group (p < 0.05). After 12 weeks of training, subjects in the CRAE group maintained appropriate leptin and adiponectin levels and showed positive improvements of blood insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance parameters relative to baseline and to the CON group (p < 0.05). CRAE is a useful therapeutic method to alleviate metabolic risk factors in adolescent girls who are obese and hyperinsulinemic.