Effects of aerobic training on serum omentin-1 and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese men

Omentin-1 is a newly discovered protein expressed and secreted from visceral adipose tissue that increases insulin sensitivity. We examined the effects of 12 weeks of aerobic training on serum omentin-1 concentrations together with cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese men. Eighteen overweight and obese participants (age 43.1 +/- 4.7 years, BMI epsilon 25kg center dot m-2) were assigned to exercise training (n=9) and control (n=9) groups. A matched control group of normal weight participants (n=8; age 42.2 +/- 3.8 years, BMI25kg center dot m-2) were also recruited for baseline comparison. The obese exercise group participated in 12 weeks of progressive aerobic training 5 days a week. Measures of serum omentin-1, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, blood pressure, and body composition were obtained before and after the 12 weeks. At baseline, normal weight participants had significantly higher serum omentin-1 concentrations than overweight and obese participants, and there were inverse correlations between omentin-1 and each of waist circumference, fasting glucose, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and systolic blood pressure (P0.05). After the aerobic training, waist circumference, percent body fat, fasting glucose, insulin resistance, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure were all significantly decreased (P0.05). In contrast, serum omentin-1 concentration was significantly increased after the aerobic programme (P0.05), and correlated with changes in insulin resistance (r=-0.67, P=0.04), glucose (r=-0.65, P=0.05), waist circumference (r=-0.70, P=0.03), and aerobic fitness r=-0.68, P=0.04). Aerobic training resulted in an improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors in obese participants, and this improvement was accompanied by increased omentin-1 concentrations.