Effect of Eight Weeks of Pilates training on Orexin and Insulin Resistance Levels in Overweight Children

Orexin neurons drive arousal and motivated behaviors in response to stress. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of pilates training on serum levels of orexin and insulin resistance in overweight children.
20 overweight children (10 - 13 years old) were selected from volunteers using purposive sampling, and randomly divided into two groups: Pilates exercise (n= 10) and control (n= 10) groups. Physiological characteristics were measured in both groups. Blood samples were taken before and after eight weeks of Pilates training program to measure the variables of the research. Independent t-tests were used to examine intra-group and inter-group variations of the research.
The findings by paired t-test results showed that Pilates exercise causes a significant increase in orexin (P=0.001). It was also found that eight weeks of Pilates exercise significantly reduced insulin resistance, insulin and glucose (P=0.001). In contrast, the control group had a significant increase in insulin resistance (P=0.001), insulin (P=0.001) and glucose (P=0.027). In addition, eight weeks of pilates training had a significant effect on body weight (P=0.001), fat percentage (P=0.001) and body mass index (P=0.001). It was also found that the control group had a significant increase in body weight, body fat percentage and body mass index.
The results show that eight weeks of pilates training is effective in increasing serum orexin, insulin resistance, insulin and glucose, as well as improving body composition in overweight children.