Effects of high-intensity circuit training on muscle strength, irisin, FGF-21, and adiponectin in obese female college students

This study was to examine the effects of high-intensity circuit training on muscle strength, blood irisin, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21, and adiponectin in obese female college students. The subjects (n=10) of this study performed high-intensity circuit training (jogging, stretching, squat jump, arm walking & push up, lunge jump, burppe test, mountain climber, side step, crunch & side crunch). The exercise program in this study corresponded to an intensity of 60 to 80% of the maximum oxygen consumption and was performed three times per week for 4 weeks. Obesity and metabolic syndrome markers, including blood pressures, lipid profiles, fasting glucose and serum irisin, FGF-21, total adiponectin and HMW adiponectin were measured at baseline and after exercise intervention. Paired t-test were used to assess the effects of high-intensity circuit training. Following 4 weeks, body weight, body fat (%), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) significantly decreased, whereas Irisin significantly increased. These results suggested that high-intensity circuit training may be useful for improving Irisin and obesity index in obese women.