OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to evaluate changes in body composition, adipokine levels, and dyslipidemia parameters in males with abdominal obesity following two distinct interventions: exercise alone and exercise combined with an ad libitum diet. METHODS: This study included 44 males with abdominal obesity (mean age 34.7 +/- 5.5 years, waist circumference [WC] 110.3 +/- 8.5, BMI 32.0 +/- 3.9), who were randomly assigned to three groups: an experimental group engaging in aerobic-resistance exercise (II, n = 16), an experimental group engaging in aerobic-resistance exercise combined with an ad libitum high-protein, low-glycemic index carbohydrate diet (III, n = 16), both interventions lasting 6 weeks, and a control group without interventions (I, n = 12). Body composition metrics (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], body fat [BF], abdominal fat [ABD]) and fat-free mass [FFM], along with biochemical blood analyses (irisin [IR], omentin [OMEN], glucose [GLU], insulin [INS], LDL- and HDL-cholesterol), were measured at baseline and after the 6-week intervention. The effects of the interventions on the analyzed variables across groups were assessed using mixed ANOVA tests with post-hoc comparisons. Effect size (ES) was also calculated using partial eta squared (etap2). RESULTS: The intervention in group III resulted in a significant decrease in IR (p < 0.01, etap2 0.03) by 41% and LDL-C (p < 0.01, etap2 0.02) by 14%. These effects were associated with a reduction in BF (p < 0.01, etap2 0.02) by 14%, ABD (p < 0.01, etap2 0.03) by 31%, and WC (p < 0.01, etap2 0.01) by 3%. In group II, decreases after 6 weeks of intervention were noted only in WC (p = 0.02, etap2 0.01) by 1% and in INS (p < 0.01, etap2 0.04) by 47%. No differences were found between groups. The use of low-glycemic index carbohydrates (p < 0.01, etap2 0.06) and increased protein intake (p < 0.01, etap2 0.30) led to changes in the fiber-to-energy value of the diet ratio (p < 0.01, etap2 0.18) and a reduction in dietary energy value (p < 0.01, etap2 0.13) by 23%, resulting in a greater energy deficit than in the II group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the effect of combining dietary and exercise interventions to achieve significant changes in body composition and metabolic parameters, even over a short period of intervention.

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