Effect of Selected After-School Physical Activity Protocol on Levels of CRP, miR-125a-5p, and Lipid Profile of Children with Overweight/Obesity

Background: One of the causes of arterial endothelial dysfunction in adulthood is obesity or overweight in childhood or adolescence. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of a selected after-school physical activity protocol on peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), C-reactive protein (CRP), miR-125a-5p level, and lipid profile of male children with overweight/obesity. Methods: Twenty-four boy children with overweight/obesity (aged 13 - 15 years) were assigned to after-school physical activity (APA, BMI = 27.5±1.4 kg/m2, n = 12) and control (CON, BMI = 26.28 ± 2.3 kg/m2, n = 12) groups. The APA participants took part in exercise intervention for 12 weeks, three sessions per week. Changes in VO2peak, CRP, miR-125a-5p, and lipid profile of participants were assessed before and after exercise interventions. Results: There were significant reductions in CRP (-27.7% vs. 9.7%), miR-125a-5p (36.7% vs. 7.6%), fat percentage (-8.24% vs. 0.7%), LDL (-17.66% vs. 1.9%), and triglycerides (-15.7% vs. 5.9%) in APA and CON groups after 12-week exercise intervention (P < 0.05). In contrast, a significant increase was found in HDL (7.7% vs. -0.6%) and VO2peak (4.83% vs. -1.6%) (P < 0.05). There were significant between-group differences in all measured variables, except for BMI. Conclusions: After-school physical activity effectively improved the endothelial dysfunction and lipid profile of adolescents with overweight/obesity. Therefore, based on the positive effects of these physical activities performed out of school, further use of after-school physical activity programs is suggested.