BACKGROUND: We assessed the effects of a 20-week combined (aerobic and resistance) exercise training programme on the inflammatory profile of prepubertal children with overweight or obesity. METHODS: Totally 109 participants (10.1 +/- 1.1 years, 41% girls) were randomly allocated to an exercise or control group. Adiponectin, C-reactive protein, epidermal growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, leptin, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) were analysed in plasma. Total white blood cell (WBC) count and immune subpopulations (eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes) were also determined. RESULTS: No intervention effect was found for any of the analysed biomarkers (all p >= 0.05). We observed a significant sex by intervention interaction for IL-1beta (p = 0.03). When stratifying the sample by sex, the exercise programme induced a significant effect on IL-1beta levels (mean Z-score difference, 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.32 to 1.01)) in girls, but not in boys. A lower number of girls in the exercise group showed a meaningful reduction in IL-1beta (ie, >= 0.2 standard deviations) than in the control group (15% versus 85%, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This exercise programme failed to improve the inflammatory profile in prepubertal children with overweight/obesity. Future studies should explore the effect of longer exercise interventions and in combination with diet.

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