Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Adults with obesity have increased fat mass and greater absolute skeletal muscle mass, which may confound interpretation of exercise‐induced myokine responses. This study examined sex‐specific differences in myokine dynamics based on exercise habits in adults with obesity matched for body composition. This retrospective, sex‐stratified, matched cross‐sectional study included adults with obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m 2 ) attending an obesity clinic. Eighty participants (20 males and 20 females in each exercise habit group) were matched for age, body weight, body mass index, body fat mass and lean body mass. Regular exercise habits were defined as ≥30 min at least twice weekly. Serum concentrations of myostatin (MST), follistatin, irisin, brain‐derived neurotrophic factor, follistatin‐like protein 1 (FSTL1), and secreted proteins acidic and rich in cysteine were measured. A significant interaction between sex and exercise habits was observed for serum FSTL1 levels ( p = 0.023), whereas MST showed significant main effects of both sex and exercise habits. Multiple regression analysis revealed that daily physical activity in females was an independent determinant of MST (β = −0.400, p = 0.011) and FSTL1 (β = −0.417, p = 0.007). These findings suggest that daily physical activity is an independent determinant of circulating MST and FSTL1 levels in females with obesity, highlighting sex‐specific differences in myokine regulation.
Kurose et al. (2026) studied this question.