Research Paper: Effects of Combined Training on the Levels of Obestatin, Ghrelin, and Insulin Resistance in Overweight Women

Background: The present quasi-experimental and field research was conducted to evaluate the effect of combined exercises on the levels of obestatin and ghrelin in overweight women. Methods: The study subjects consisted of 34 overweight women with a Mean±SD age of 30.29±4.66 years, a Mean±SD height of 165.11±5.56 cm, a Mean±SD weight of 74.64±7.33 kg, a Mean±SD body mass index of 27.35±1.74 kg/m2, which were selected purposefully and randomly, and assigned to the experimental (n=17) and control (n=17) groups. At first, venous blood samples were taken from subjects after 12 h overnight fasting to measure the levels of ghrelin, obestatin, glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance. Then, the participants of the experimental group participated in a combined exercise program, including warming up, aerobic training, resistance training, and cooling down. All these variables were re-measured after 12 weeks and the obtained data were analyzed. The paired t test was used for intra-group comparison and independent t test was performed for inter-group comparison. Results: The findings of this study showed that body weight, BMI, waist circumference, glucose level, and ghrelin-obestatin ratio were significantly different between the experimental and the control groups (P≤0.05) after 8 weeks of combined exercise training, but differences in ghrelin, obestatin, insulin levels, and insulin resistance were not significant between the experimental and control groups (P≤0.05). Conclusion: The combined exercise training, therefore, seems to be a suitable method for weight loss, body composition, waist circumference, glucose level, and ghrelin-obestatin ratio.