BACKGROUND: Exercise can reduce hepcidin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin (IL)-6 and improve the iron status, but the intensity of exercises is very important. This study will compare the effect of resistance training (RT) intensity on hepcidin levels, iron status, and inflammatory markers in overweight/obese girls with and without iron stores deficient. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, 40 students of the University of Isfahan (18 to 22-year old, with 35 > body mass index (BMI) >= 25) voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were divided into two groups with 20 participants, based on serum ferritin (> 30 ng/ml or <= 30 ng/ml). Participants in each group were randomly and equally assigned to one of the moderate or high-intensity training groups. RT was performed 8 weeks, 4 days a week, and each session for 1 h, with an elastic band. The iron levels, hepcidin, total iron-binding capacity, ferritin, hemoglobin, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 before and after intervention were collected with the blood samples. Two-way analysis of variance was used to assess the impact of exercise and ferritin level and their interaction, and the paired test was utilized for test changes from baseline. RESULTS: There are no significant interactions between ferritin levels and exercise intensity for the main outcomes (all p > 0.05). The significant impact of the mode of exercise was observed in TNF-alpha (p < 0.05), and a significant difference between low and high levels of ferritin was observed in hepcidin (p = 0.002). Besides, in all four groups, significant decreases were observed in BMI (28.00 +/- 3.00 to 27.00 +/- 3.00), hepcidin (1234.02 +/- 467.00 to 962.06 +/- 254.00), and TNF-alpha (223.00 +/- 99.00 to 174.00 +/- 77.00) compared to the baseline measurements (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Basal ferritin levels appear to be effective on hepcidin levels, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 after the intervention. RT with two different intense can reduce BMI, hepcidin, ferritin, and TNF-alpha in all groups. It seems that performing RT reduces inflammation and hepcidin in obese/overweight participants with different iron stores.

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