Effects of a Walking Intervention Using Mobile Technology and Interactive Voice Response on Serum Adipokines Among Postmenopausal Women at Increased Breast Cancer Risk

Practical methods to reduce the risk of obesity-related breast cancer among high-risk subgroups are lacking. Few studies have investigated the effects of exercise on circulating adipokines, which have been shown to be associated with obesity and breast cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a walking intervention on serum adiponectin, leptin, and the adiponectin-to-leptin ratio (A/L). Seventy-one overweight and obese postmenopausal women at increased risk of developing breast cancer were stratified by BMI (25–30 kg/m² or >30 kg/m²) and randomized to a 12-week, two-arm walking intervention administered through interactive voice response (IVR) and mobile devices. The intervention arms were IVR + coach and IVR + no-coach condition. Pre–post changes in serum adiponectin, leptin, and the A/L ratio were examined using mixed regression models, with ratio estimates (and 95 % confidence intervals [CI]) corresponding to postintervention adipokine concentrations relative to preintervention concentrations. While postintervention effects included statistically significant improvements in anthropometric measures, the observed decreases in adiponectin and leptin (ratio = 0.86, 95 % CI 0.74–1.01, and ratio = 0.94, 95 % CI 0.87–1.01, respectively) and increase in A/L ratio = 1.09, 95 % CI 0.94–1.26) were not significant. Thus, these findings do not support significant effects of the walking intervention on circulating adipokines among overweight and obese postmenopausal women. Additional studies are essential to determine the most effective and practical lifestyle interventions that can promote beneficial modification of serum adipokine concentrations, which may prove useful for obesity-related breast cancer prevention.