The Relationship of Adiponectin and Leptin with Diabetic Risk Factors in Obese Women with Breast Cancer after Regular Aerobic Training and Ginger Supplement

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Although obesity is associated with inflammation and diabetic risk factors, the relationship of these factors in obese women with breast cancer is not clear, especially after water-based training with and without ginger anti-inflammatory supplement. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 6 weeks of water-based aerobic training with ginger supplement consumption on the selected adipokines (adiponectin, leptin), BF% and diabetic risk factors (glucose, insulin, insulin resistance) in obese women with breast cancer and also the relationship among these bio-indexes after this treatment period. Forthis purpose, 40 women with breast cancer (mean age 48±5.4 years, weight 76±9 kg, fat mass 41.8±4%) participated in a semi-experimental study. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups of placebo, water-based training, ginger supplement and water-based training + ginger supplement. Participants in the ginger supplement group and the water-based exercise + ginger supplement group received 4 capsules daily (each capsule contained 750 mg of ginger powder) for 6 weeks. Theprogressive water-based training program was performed with 50-75% of heart rate reserve, 4 sessions per week for 6 weeks in a pool with 15 meters width. Levels of leptin, adiponectin and insulin were measured using ELISA kits and glucose was measured by the enzymatic calorimetric method. Insulin resistance was calculated with the HOMA-IR equation and %fat was determined by body composition set. The results showed that 6 weeks of water-based aerobic training and ginger supplement consumption significantly increased adiponectin and significantly decreased leptin and diabetic risk factors (glucose, insulin, insulin resistance) (P≤0.05). In addition, coefficients of correlation showed a significant relationship between leptin and insulin resistance in the supplement group (P=0.017, r= -0.73). These findings showed that change in lifestyle is associated with improving selected adipokine levels (adiponectin, leptin) and diabetic risk factors (glucose, insulin, insulin resistance and BF%), but no significant relationship was observed between adiponectin and leptin with diabetic risk factors and %fat.