Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: To evaluate and to study obesity in Saudi female population represente by Makkah community. This study aims to investigate obesity, by detecting leptin concentration and to take other parameters like body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in assessing obesity.

Methods: Two-hundred forty women (n=240) between the ages 18 and 65 participate in this study. Volunteers were divided into three groups. The first group was the normal or control group with (BMI) range from 18 to 29.9, the second group were the obese and characterise with (BMI) ≥30 and finally obese diabetic group with body mass index (BMI) ≥30 and suffer from diabetes mellitus. Items collected included height, weight, waist circumference and blood sample. Blood samples were later thawed and serum leptin levels were detected with ELISA.

Result: Leptin was measured in all the groups and their means found to be (8.4±1.4) in normal, (56.3±18.8) in obese and (42±19.3) in diabetic obese group. Leptin levels were directly associated with BMI (r=0.152, P=0.178) in normal group, and strong positive correlation in obese group and diabetic obese as the follow: (r=0.350, P=0.001), (r=0.355, P=0.001). Also, leptin concentrations were positively correlated with WC in obese and diabetic obese.

Conclusion: Leptin concentrations were found to be high in both obese and diabetic obese group and showed a directly positive relation with BMI and waist circumference. Understanding that leptin hormone influencing appetite and body weight that cause obesity. However, serum leptin concentration changes in response to many features like fasting, hypertension, practice physical activity, smoking or follow special diet.