The Protective Effect of Different Methods of Exercise Training on Plasma Levels of Nesfatin-1, Cardiorespiratory Endurance and Body Composition in Overweight and Obese Females

Nesfatin-1 is a newly discovered anti-appetite protein which is expressed in adipose tissue and appears in plasma. It has a significant role in energy homeostasis and metabolism. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an 8-week endurance and resistance training on the plasma level of nesfatin-1, cardiorespiratory endurance, and body composition of overweight and obese females. A sample of 34 overweight and obese females were recruited and randomly allocated to the control (10 students), endurance training (12 students), and resistance training (12 students) groups. Females in the experimental groups did either endurance or resistance training for 8 weeks—four sessions per week and 32 sessions in total—with a severity of 65%–80% of maximum heart rate (HRmax) and 65%–80% of one repetition maximum (1RM). A blood sample was obtained from each participant before and after the study intervention and after twelve hours of fasting. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was employed for measuring the plasma level of nesfatin-1. The normality of the study variables was assessed by conducting the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Moreover, within-group comparisons were performed via the paired-samples t test while between-group comparisons were made by conducting the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the least significant difference (LSD) post hoc test at a significance level of less than 0.05. The means of participants’ age, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were respectively 22.29 ± 2.49 years, 77.23 ± 10.00 kg, and 30.19 ± 2.79 kg/m2. Compared with the control group, the plasma level of nesfatin-1 as well as cardiorespiratory endurance increased after the study intervention in both of the experimental groups. Besides, weight, body fat mass, BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio decreased significantly in the experimental groups (P < 0.05). As non-invasive non-pharmacological procedures, both endurance and resistance training can exert protective effects on overweight and obese females’ health through increasing the level of nesfatin-1 anti-inflammatory agent and improving obesity-related indices.