ABSTRACT
Visfatin is a newly identified adipocytokine in visceral adipose tissue and has insulin-like metabolic effects that may improve insulin sensitivity (Fukuhara et al., 2005). Fukuhara et al. (2005) reported that plasma visfatin concentrations were strongly correlated with visceral fat mass among the Japanese general population. It has also been found that plasma visfatin concentrations are elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated with abdominal obesity and fasting insulin in adults (Sandeep et al., 2007). Visfatin has been suggested to be one of the links between intra-abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (Sethi and Vidal-Puig, 2005). Given that insulin sensitivity has been reported to improve with exercise training, it can be speculated that visfatin may also be involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity under yet to be determined conditions. In this context, it is important to look at the relationships between plasma visfatin concentrations and insulin sensitivity in regularly physically active children. To our knowledge, the only published study assessing visfatin in children found that, although plasma visfatin concentrations were markedly elevated in obese children, visfatin was not associated with overall adiposity (Haider et al., 2006). The aim of the present study was to examine the association of fasting plasma visfatin concentration with insulin sensitivity and body fat parameters in physically active children.
