Title

A study on relationship between the adiposity and serum leptin concentration in adult women.

Abstract

Leptin, the product of the ob gene, may be a humoral regulator of human adiposity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between serum leptin concentration, adiposity in both normal weight and overweight/obese adult women who have no metabolic disease. In addition the effect of body weight loss after weight control program (8 weeks) on serum leptin concentration was investigated.

Anthropometric parameters, serum leptin and circulating metabolic parameters, including plasma insulin were measured. Computed tomography measurements at umbilicus and thigh midway between patella and pubis were performed. The subjects are divided into 2 groups; normal weight subjects (BMI < 25; NWS) and overweight/obese subjects (BMI ≥ 25; OWS).

There was a significant correlation between serum -leptin concentration and total body mass (r=0.642, p<0.001), the % body fat (r=0.572, p<0.001), and the body mass index (r=0.598, p<0.001). Also serum leptin concentration was correlated with the abdominal subcutaneous fat(r=0.588, p<0.001), abdominal visceral fat (r=0.281, p<0.05) and thigh fat (r=0.580, p<0.001. But serum leptin concentration was not correlated with waist-hip ratio and visceral-subcutaneous fat ratio. Absolute and adiposity-corrected serum leptin levels were higher in OWS than NWS. After weight control program the women had lost an average 4.5 ±0.3% of body weight and serum leptin concentration was decreased with body weight loss and the decreased amount of leptin was greater in OWS than in NWS. In both NWS and OWS, serum leptin concentration is significantly decreased only when body weight loss was more than 5% of initial weight.

In conclusion, serum leptin concentration are well correlated with the total body fat mass in adult women but not fat distribution. The elevated concentration of serum leptin in obese may be related the increased body fat mass and increased production of leptin per unit of adiposity in obese. Also the reduction of serum leptin concentration may require more than certain level of body weight loss.

Department(s)

Biomedical Sciences

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1999

Journal Title

Journal of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity

Citation-only

Share

COinS