Abstract
BACKGROUND: The prevalence and magnitude of obesity in the children and the adolescents have increased dramatically in the developing countries over the last 20-30 years. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children is increasing. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the changes of C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, insulin, and blood lipids before and after the exercise therapy in normal and obese children (with or without metabolic syndrome). METHODS: The study covered 49 normal children (control), 32 obese children without metabolic syndrome and 12 obese children with metabolic syndrome. We examined the influence of exercise (3 times/week) for 12 weeks on the levels of serum CRP, leptin, insulin, homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in all groups. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between HOMA-IR and the individual components of the metabolic syndrome. After 12 weeks of exercise, both of the obese children groups, with and without metabolic syndrome, showed reduced body weight, body mass index (BMI), and CRP level, and increased HDL-C level. The percentage of metabolic syndrome decreased from 12.9% before the exercise training to 7.5% after training. Also, there was a significant reduction in BMI (from 47.3 to 32.6%), in systolic blood pressure (from 18.3 to 15.1%) and in HDL-C level (from 18.3 to 9.7%). CONCLUSION: Overweight children have multiple risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome. 12-week exercise may have a positive effect on reducing risk factors for the metabolic syndrome.