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Background & objectives: Recently it has been shown that some adipose tissue-derived hormones, such as apelin and omentin, can be effective in regulating metabolic metabolism. So the aim of the current study was to examine the effect of 12-weeks Pilates’ body training on serum levels of apelin and omentin-1 in inactive and overweight women.
Methods: This is a pre-test and post-test clinical trial study in which 28 volunteer overweight women with average BMI of 27.2±1.1 kg/m² participated. They were randomly divided into training group (n=14) and control group (n=14). Pilates exercise training was performed 3 sessions per week, 60 min per session for 12 weeks. In order to measure the changes in serum levels of apelin and omentine-1, blood samples were taken after 12-14 hours at fasting status in two steps, 48 hours before the first training session and 48 hours after the last training session. The paired t-test and the ANCOVA test were used to examine intra-group and inter-group differences, respectively.
Results: Based on the findings of this study, 12 weeks of Pilates training had a significant decrease in apelin serum levels in both intra-group and inter-group with significance level of (p=0.001) and (p=0.009) respectively. Serum levels of omentin-1 also changed significantly in both intra-group and inter-group. The serum levels of omentin-1 in the exercise group significantly increased after 12 weeks compared to pre-training with significance level of (p=0.002) and in comparison with the control group with significance level of (p=0.003).
Conclusion: Regarding to the results of the current study and the positive effect of Pilates exercise on adipokines levels, it seems that Pilates exercise can be a functional factor for regulating adipose tissue hormones (adipokines) in obese or overweight women, and overweight people can do Pilates exercise  based on their ability.
 

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Background & objectives: Preptin and adropine are peptide hormones that play an important role in the controlling of obesity by regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of aerobic training on preptin, adropine and insulin resistance in men with overweight.
Methods: In this clinical trial study, 18 overweight and obese men (age 58.39±3.92, body mass index 28.75±1.23) were selected and randomly divided into two groups (control and exercise). Exercise group participated in an aerobic exercise program for eight weeks, five sessions per week (with an intensity of 65 to 85% of maximum heart rate, 40 minutes). Two days before and after the protocol, fasting blood samples were taken. Preptin and adropine were measured by ELISA. Data were tested using independent t-test and ANCOVA at a significance level of p<0.05.
Results: The level of preptin in the experimental group was significantly reduced compared to the control group (p=0.001) and the pretest (p=0.000). Also, the adropine level in the experimental group increased significantly compared to the control group (p=0.000) and the pretest (p=0.000). Also, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values in the exercise group compared to the control group (p=0.000) and pretest (p=0.000) showed a significant decrease.
Conclusions: Exercise improved glycemic index in obese and overweight men by improving the levels of preptin and adropine. It seems that aerobic exercise can be an effective intervention method to control and prevent the occurrence of metabolic diseases in these people.

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Background & objectives: Adipolin is one of the anti-inflammatory adipocytokines that is mainly synthesized and secreted in adipose tissue. This study aimed to compare the two types of Pilates and CX exercises on adipolin level and insulin resistance in overweight women.
Methods: In this semi-experimental research, 30 overweight female subjects (age range 20-40, BMI, 25-30 kg/m2) were divided into three groups of Pilates (10 people), CX (10 people) and control (10 people) .The Pilates group trained with an intensity of 50-80% of the maximum heart rate (8 weeks, three sessions per week, for 60 minutes) and the CX group with an intensity of 50-80% of 1RM (8 weeks, three sessions per week, for 30 minutes). The control group did not do any sports activities. Before and after the intervention, measurements of the subjects' height, weight and body mass index and heart rate were taken using a polar wristwatch, and blood samples were taken from the subjects to check the biochemical factors of adipolin, insulin and glucose. In order to determine the difference between the groups, a mixed statistical test was used. ANOVA and paired statistical tests were used to determine the simple effects of variables.
Results: The results of the present study showed that the implementation of 8 weeks of Pilates and CX exercises increases plasma adipolin level, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Also, there was a significant difference between the two sports activities of Pilates and CX with the control group (p<0.05); However, there was no significant difference in any of the factors between the Pilates and CX groups. Weight indices, fat percentage, BMI, glucose, insulin and insulin resistance of Pilates and CX groups have significantly decreased compared to the control group (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results of our study, it was shown that Pilates and CX exercises cause a significant increase in the serum level of adipolin and a significant decrease in body mass index, fat percentage, weight and insulin resistance compared to the control group (p<0.05), but there was no significant change in these factors between the two groups of Pilates and CX.
 

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Background & objectives: Obesity and vitamin D (VD) deficiency is associated with poor sleep quality (SQ), and lifestyle changes can effectively improve SQ. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high- intensity interval running training (HIIRT) with VD intake on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and SQ in young women with VD deficiency.
Methods: This clinical trial study was conducted on 52 women with an average age of 25.98±1.95 years, body mass index of 27.54±1.13 kg/m2 and low VD status. After being selected by the available sampling method, the subjects were randomly divided into control, running training, VD and combined groups. HIIT performed in 12x1-min running bouts at 80-90% HRmax interspersed with one minute of active recovery. VD was consumed weekly with a dose of 50,000 units. SQ was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with repeated measures, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and paired t- test (p<0.05).
Results: After 8 weeks, the levels of BDNF in the experimental groups increased and the SQ score decreased significantly (p<0.05). But the combined intervention had more effect on the change of SQ scales (p<0.05) and BDNF (p<0.001) compared to the other two interventions (p<0.05). In addition, no significant difference was observed between the changes in the SQ score of the running training and VD groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Lifestyle changes such as HIIT, VD intake, and combined intervention can lead to improvement of SQ through the up-regulation of BDNF in women with overweight and VD deficiency. Also combined intervention may have more potent effects on improving these variables.

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Background: Given the high prevalence of obesity and overweight and the detrimental impact on the mental health of affected people, the objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of narrative therapy on social physique anxiety in obese and overweight women.
Methods: The current research was a semi-experimental type, with a pre-test, post-test design with a control group. The study population for this research consisted of all obese and overweight women in Tabriz city in 2023. 30 women were selected by the available sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group received narrative treatment in 8 sessions of 90 minutes, while the control group did not receive any treatment and was placed on the waiting list. At the end of the treatment period, a post-test was performed in both groups. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale by Hart et al. (1989) was used as the measurement tool. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (covariance test with repeated measures) by SPSS-24 software.
Results: In the pre-test, the mean and standard deviation of social physique anxiety in the experimental group were 44.33±2.289, while in the control group, it was 43.67±3.063. In the post-test stage, the values for social physique anxiety in the experimental group were 36.33±3.117, while in the control group, it was 43.80±3.385. The results indicated the effectiveness of narrative therapy (p<0.001). In the follow-up stages, it was found that the effects of narrative therapy are lasting (p<0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that narrative can be an effective method for reducing social physique anxiety in obese and overweight women.