Effect of Aerobic Training on Calorie Intake and Levels of Plasma Leptin and Insulin in Young Men

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

Purpose: Changes in the amount of leptin and its relation with the calorie intake after adaptation to aerobic 
exercise are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two months of aerobic training on 
calorie intake and the levels of plasma leptin and insulin in young men.
Material and Methods: Twenty three male students (age= 19.58 ± 2.12 yr; BMI= 21.63 ± 2.7 kg/m²; 
weight= 64.86 ± 6.46 kg) were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental 
subjects performed aerobic trainings at 60-85% of their maximum heart rate, three times a week and for eight 
weeks. 72 hours prior to and after the eight-week aerobic training program, the subjects performed exhaustive 
exercise and their blood samples were taken in four stages in a non-fasted state before and after the exhaustive 
exercise. 
Results: The findings of this study showed that aerobic training had no significant effect on plasma leptin 
(P=0.16), insulin concentration (P=0.06) and calorie intake (P=0.63) at the rest state after exhausting exercise 
while there were significant decreases in glucose (P=0.003) levels after exhaustive exercise.
Discussion and Conclusion: Lack of significant variations in weight and remarkable negative balance are 
possible reasons why no change occurred in leptin and calorie intake after aerobic training. It seems that the 
volume and intensity of training must be higher to induce changes in plasma leptin as this index is highly 
stable

Keywords

• Leptin
• Calorie intake
• Aerobic training
• Exhaustive exercise
• Young men

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