Research

Pre- and post- prandial appetite hormone levels in normal weight and severely obese women

Joseph J Carlson^1,2 , Amy A Turpin¹ , Gail Wiebke³ , Steven C Hunt⁴ and Ted D Adams^4,5

¹Division of Nutrition, University of Utah, HPER North Room 213, SLC, UT 84112, USA

²Division of Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition, Departments of Radiology and Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, MI 48824, USA

³Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Utah, 50 N. Medical Drive Rm 2C412, SLC, UT, 84132, USA

⁴Cardiovascular Genetics Division, University of Utah, 420 Chipeta Way, Room 1160, SLC, UT, 84108, USA

⁵Intermountain Health & Fitness Institute, Division of Cardiology at LDS Hospital, 8th Avenue and C Street, SLC, UT, 84143, USA

author email corresponding author email

Nutrition & Metabolism 2009, 6:32doi:10.1186/1743-7075-6-32

Published:	11 August 2009

Abstract

Background

Appetite is affected by many factors including the hormones leptin, ghrelin and adiponectin. Ghrelin stimulates hunger, leptin promotes satiety, and adiponectin affects insulin response. This study was designed to test whether the pre- and postprandial response of key appetite hormones differs in normal weight (NW) and severely obese (SO) women.

Methods

Twenty three women ages 25–50 were recruited for this study including 10 NW (BMI = 23.1 ± 1.3 kg/m²) and 13 SO (BMI = 44.5 ± 7.1 kg/m²). The study was conducted in a hospital-based clinical research centre. Following a 12-hour fast, participants had a baseline blood draw, consumed a moderately high carbohydrate meal (60% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 20% fat) based on body weight. Postprandially, participants had six blood samples drawn at 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Primary measures included pre- and post-prandial total ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin and insulin. A repeated measures general linear model was used to evaluate the hormone changes by group and time (significance p ≤ 0.05).

Results

There were significant differences between the NW and the SO for all hormones in the preprandial fasting state. The postprandial responses between the SO versus NW revealed: higher leptin (p < 0.0001), lower adiponectin (p = 0.04), trend for lower ghrelin (p = 0.06) and insulin was not different (p = 0.26). Postprandial responses over time between the SO versus NW: higher leptin (p < 0.001), lower ghrelin and adiponectin (p = 0.004, p = 0.015, respectively), and trend for higher insulin (p = 0.06).

Conclusion

This study indicates that significant differences in both pre- and selected post- prandial levels of leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin and insulin exist between NW and SO women. Improving our understanding of the biochemical mechanisms accounting for these differences in appetite hormones among individuals with varying body size and adiposity should aid in the development of future therapies to prevent and treat obesity.