1. ^*Department of Sport and Leisure Studies, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
2. ^†Department of Physical Education, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
3. ^‡Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
4. ^§Department of Laboratory Medicine, MizMedi Hospital, Seoul, Korea
5. ^¶Department of Family Medicine, MizMedi Hospital, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence: Justin Y. Jeon Department of Sport and Leisure Studies, Yonsei University, Seodaemun-Gu Shinchon-Dong 134, Seoul, Korea. E-mail: jjeon@yonsei.ac.kr

^**The costs of publication of this article were defrayed, in part, by the payment of page charges. This article must, therefore, be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received 19 September 2006; Accepted 16 April 2007.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association among adiposity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers [ high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-] and adiponectin and to study the effects of exercise training on adiposity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers among obese male Korean adolescents.

Research Methods and Procedures: Twenty-six obese and 14 lean age-matched male adolescents were studied. We divided the obese subjects into two groups: obese exercise group (N = 14) and obese control group (N = 12). The obese exercise group underwent 6 weeks of jump rope exercise training (40 min/d, 5 d/wk). Adiposity, insulin resistance, lipid profile, hs-CRP, IL-6, TNF-, and adiponectin were measured before and after the completion of exercise training.

Results: The current study demonstrated higher insulin resistance, total cholesterol, LDL-C levels, triglyceride, and inflammatory markers and lower adiponectin and HDL-C in obese Korean male adolescents. Six weeks of increased physical activity improved body composition, insulin sensitivity, and adiponectin levels in obese Korean male adolescents without changes in TNF-, IL-6, and hs-CRP.

Discussion: Obese Korean male adolescents showed reduced adiponectin levels and increased inflammatory cytokines. Six weeks of jump rope exercise improved triglyceride and insulin sensitivity and increased adiponectin levels.