The Impact of Exercise on Serum Levels of Leptin and Adiponectin in Obese Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of exercise on serum levels of leptin and adiponectin in obese children and adolescents.

A systematic search of the published Persian- and English-language studies from PubMed, Web of Science, SID, and Magiran databases was done using related keywords up to February 2022. After selecting articles based on the inclusion criteria, a result meta-analysis was performed. Effect size (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. Also, the I2 test was used to determine the heterogeneity, and the Funnel plot test and Egger’s test were used to determine publication bias.

The results of 24 studies on 985 obese children and adolescents showed that exercise caused a significant decrease in serum leptin [SMD=-0.94 (CI:-1.25 to -0.62) p=0.001] but a significant increase in serum adiponectin [SMD=0.85 (CI:0.48 to 1.22) p=0.001]. Also, the meta-regression results showed that the duration and effect of exercise were not significantly correlated with serum leptin levels in obese children and adolescents (r=-0.03, P=0.13) but were significantly correlated with serum adiponectin levels in obese children (r=-0.07, P=0.001).

The present study results showed that both types of exercises (resistance and aerobic) reduced the circulating levels of leptin but increased adiponectin in obese children and adolescents.