Little is known about the effects of different intensities of physical training on plasma leptin. This study examined the effect of two intensities of physical training on leptin in obese teenagers, and explored correlates at baseline and in response to 8 months of physical training. The participants were 55 obese youths 12 to 16 years of age who completed both baseline and posttesting. The youths were randomized to engage in lifestyle education only (LSE), moderate-intensity physical training and LSE, or high-intensity physical training and LSE. Baseline leptin was positively associated with fat mass. Girls had higher leptin levels at lower levels of fasting insulin than boys. The 8-mo physical training doses prescribed to obese teenagers did not result in significant group differences in mean change in leptin, although there was large variability in individual response. The change in leptin was inversely associated with baseline leptin and change in cardiovascular fitness. Diet, physical activity level, visceral adiposity, and glucose concentrations were not associated with leptin, neither at baseline nor in response to physical training. At baseline, total fat mass rather than visceral adiposity was associated with higher leptin levels. Over the 8-mo intervention period, regardless of group membership, youths who had the lowest increase in cardiovascular fitness tended to have the highest increase in leptin.

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