Decrease of Circulatory Level of Inflammatory Factor Lp-PLA2 by Short-Term Aerobic Exercise in Obese Female Juveniles

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), a novel marker of vascular inflammation, was increased in obesity and identified as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Recently, inverse association between physical activity and Lp-PLA2 activity was found in male children and adolescents. However, the effects of physical exercise on the serum level of Lp-PLA2 in obesity were unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of short-term moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on serum Lp-PLA2 in obese female juveniles. Fifty obese female juveniles were divided into two groups: exercise plus diet group (n = 30) and diet group (n = 20). The participants in the exercise-plus-diet group undertook 4-week moderate aerobic exercise (6 days/week, twice a day, 2 h/time with 5 min rest per 30 min exercise) and were fed a diet with calorie restriction and increase of vegetables and fruit intakes. Subjects in the diet group had the same diet without the exercise. Before and after the experimental period, anthropometric index, glucose and lipid metabolisms, and serum levels of Lp-PLA2 and C-reactive protein (CRP), the most commonly used predictor of cardiovascular disease and inflammatory factor, were measured. Compared with the diet group, the serum levels of Lp-PLA2 and CRP significantly declined in the exercise-plus-diet group, accompanied with reduction in weight, BMI and body fat as well as improvements of glucose and lipid metabolisms. Correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between the exerciseinduced decrease of Lp-PLA2 and the exercise-induced decreases of BMI, trunk fat, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and CRP. In conclusion, this is the first report that short-term (4 weeks) aerobic exercise decreased serum Lp-PLA2 in previously sedentary obese female juveniles, which was associated with fat loss and decrease of cardiometabolic risk.