Influence of a 12-week physical activity program on leptin resistance in metabolic syndrome: a preliminary study

Purpose: Metabolic syndrome is a condition with clustering of risk factors like insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Leptin is a protein of obese gene produced by white adipose tissue. Leptin resistance is the insensitivity of leptin in hypothalamus despite high amounts in blood causing obesity and metabolic syndrome. The study focused on the influence of a 12-week physical activity promotion program on leptin resistance in people with metabolic syndrome Methods: After approval from institutional ethics committee (IEC 343-2018), 18 participants (males N= 4, females N=14) of age group 45.0±7.6 years with metabolic syndrome according to (NCEP ATP-III) criteria were included in the study. The participants underwent a 12-week physical activity program consisting of 150 min of moderate to vigorous activity per week as per GPAQ domains—work, transport, and recreation. The outcomes were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks. Results: Out of 18 participants, 10 participants who completed the study were analysed. Twelve-week physical activity showed significant changes in waist circumference (p=0.047), post prandial blood glucose (p=0.0396), triglycerides (p=0.0323), body mass index (p=0.0056), subcutaneous fat (p=0.0354), and basal metabolic rate (p=0.0035). Fasting blood glucose (p=0.254), lipid profiles (total cholesterol (p=0.062)), high-density lipoprotein (p=0.367), low-density lipoprotein (p=0.641), and leptin showed insignificant change (p=0.328). Global physical activity questionnaire showed significant change (p=0.0254) suggesting changes in physical activity behaviors. Conclusion: From present study, it is concluded that a 12-week physical activity promotion program brought marginal changes in leptin levels and has potential to modify metabolic syndrome parameters and improve physical activity.