{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T04:37:13Z","timestamp":1792125433172,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781740800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007771","name":"Medical University of Silesia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BNW-1-107\/K\/3\/O"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BNW-1-107\/K\/3\/O"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007771","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["BNW-1-107\/K\/3\/O"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BNW-1-107\/K\/3\/O"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/005k7hp45","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Obesity-related insulin resistance is accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation, but the extent to which weight loss modifies circulating cytokines in a sex-specific manner remains insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to assess sex-specific cytokine responses and metabolic adaptation in adults with obesity and insulin resistance following a six-month weight-reduction program (WRP). Methods: Thirty-six participants (24 women and 12 men) with a value of Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) \u2265 2 underwent an individualized low-calorie diet combined with moderate physical activity and health education. Anthropometric, body composition, biochemical, oxidative stress, and cytokine parameters were evaluated before and after the intervention. Results: Both women and men showed significant reductions in body mass, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, visceral fat area (VFA), body fat mass (BFM), fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, modified Atherogenic Index of Plasma (new-AIP), malondialdehyde (MDA), and Oxidative Stress Index (OSI). Women additionally showed significant decreases in fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal-muscle mass (SMM), total body water (TBW), glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and triacylglycerols, whereas cholesterol in high-density lipoproteins (HDL-C) increased significantly in men. Cytokine changes were selective rather than uniform. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-\u03b1) decreased in both women and men. In sex-stratified analyses, IL-1\u03b2 decreased significantly only in women, whereas IL-7 decreased significantly only in men. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: [NCT07645105] (retrospectively registered on [11 June 2026]). Conclusions: A 6-month lifestyle-based weight-reduction program in adults with overweight or obesity and insulin resistance was associated with metabolic improvement, reduced oxidative stress, and partial attenuation of obesity-related low-grade inflammation. The observed cytokine and metabolic changes suggest sex-related patterns of immunometabolic adaptation to weight reduction. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the relatively small sex-stratified subgroups and the number of cytokine endpoints analyzed, and they require confirmation in larger, sex-balanced studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18121982","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T09:18:43Z","timestamp":1781860723000},"page":"1982","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Sex-Specific Cytokine Responses and Metabolic Adaptation to Weight Loss in Obesity with Insulin Resistance"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-5094-5287","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Dydo\u0144","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5074-0125","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Birkov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4781-5162","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pawe\u0142","family":"Dolibog","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8699-3581","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Be\u00e1ta","family":"\u010ci\u017em\u00e1rov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6291-4014","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Be\u00e1ta","family":"Hubkov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8216-4495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zenon","family":"Czuba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-7336-8824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paulina","family":"Zalejska-Fiolka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agata","family":"Dydo\u0144","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8974-5786","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u0142awomir","family":"Kasperczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3232-6377","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bronis\u0142awa","family":"Skrzep-Poloczek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Scientific Research Facility, Branch in Bielsko-Bia\u0142a, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3879-6548","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jolanta","family":"Zalejska-Fiolka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"},{"name":"Scientific Research Facility, Branch in Bielsko-Bia\u0142a, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2026, March 30). 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