Serum leptin but not adiponectin changes during a 12-week community-based diet and exercise intervention programme

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents has been increasing worldwide (Kosti and Panagiotakos, 2008). It has been shown that overweight leads to an augmented risk of health problems such as insulin resistance, impaired aerobic capacity, and disturbedhormonal levels, such as leptin and adiponectin (Ebbeling et al., 2002). These adipokines have been suggested to be intermediate factors between overweight and health problems (Hung et al., 2006).