Background: Irisin is a new myokine that exerts its positive effects via increasing energy expenditure. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of submaximal aerobic training on serum irisin level and irisin-related insulin-resistance change in obese men.

Materials and Methods: In this study, 26 obese men were selected as statistical sample and they were divided into experimental groups. Former group (13 men) consisted of subjects who carried out exercise training with 50-60 percent of maximum max heart rate for 10 continuous weeks (3 sessions per week for 30 to 45 minutes in each session). Later group was consisted of subjects who do not carried out exercise training. After  the interventions of study, irisin serum levels, insulin resistance indices, body composition and maximum oxygen consumption were determined.  Finally, data were analyzed by Stata software.

Results: Statistical data analysis illustrated that the amounts of irisin serum were significantly increased in exercise training group than control group (14.75±6.22; p=0.022) after the intervention. Also, only body fat percentage (1.242±0.57) and max oxygen consumption (1.509±0.328) of subjects were significantly increased (p=0.034 and p=0.0001, respectively). However, there were not statistically significant changes in irisin- related insulin-resistance indices (p>0.05).    

Conclusion: Current study presented that serum irisin was increased after 30 submaximal exercise training sessions regardless of insulin resistance changes in obese men.