Comparing of The Effect of Long-Term Caffeine Consumption Combined With Aerobic Exercise on Serum Interleukin-6 Level and Body Composition in Obese Men

Background and Objectives Caffeine is a purine alkaloid with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aims to evaluate the effect of long-term caffeine consumption and aerobic exercise on serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) level and body composition in obese men. Subjects and Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 40 obese men (Mean age=32.8±2.74 years, body mass index=30.98±1.37 kg/m2) were randomly divided into four Group of 10 including placebo, supplementation, placebo + exercise, and supplementation + exercise. The aerobic exercise program included running for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, each for 25-45 minutes with an intensity of 55-85% of the maximum heart rate. The supplementation group received 500 mg caffeine daily and the placebo group received 500 mg capsules of 2% maltodextrin. Blood samples were taken following 12 hours of fasting before and 48 hours after the last training session to measure IL-6 level. Data were analyzed using oneway ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. The significance level was set 0.05. Results In the exercise+supplementation and placebo+exercise groups significant decreases were reported in the serum level of IL-6 compared to the supplementation and placebo groups in the post-test phase (P<0.05). There was also a significant decrease in body composition of groups placebo+exercise, exercise+supplementation, and supplementation compared to placebo group in the post-test phase (P<0.05). Conclusion Aerobic exercise alone and in combination with long-term caffeine consumption can reduce IL-6 level and improve body composition in obese people.