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Body fat, caloric intake, and plasma leptin levels in women with anorexia nervosa
Author(s) -
Lear Scott A.,
Pauly Robert P.,
Birmingham C. Laird
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199911)26:3<283::aid-eat5>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , leptin , endocrinology , medicine , caloric intake , anorexia , caloric theory , food intake , psychology , body weight , eating disorders , obesity , psychiatry
Objective To measure serum leptin concentrations in women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and to identify independent predictors of leptin levels, thereby allowing hormone levels to be modeled using regression analysis. Methods A cross‐sectional study of 15 AN inpatients and 16 healthy control subjects. Age, height, weight, percent body fat, total caloric intake, fat intake, and fasting plasma leptin levels were recorded. Stepwise forward regression analysis was carried out to identify predictors of leptin levels. Results Circulating leptin concentrations in AN were 3.5 ± 0.5 versus 7.6 ± 1.2 ng/ml in control subjects. Percent body fat correlated best with leptin levels in anorexic and control subjects ( r = .63; p = .0002), with caloric intake showing only a moderate correlation ( r = .47; p = .008). Only percent body fat was a significant predictor of plasma leptin levels in our regression model. Discussion Leptin levels are proportionately lower in AN as compared to healthy controls. It appears that physiological regulation of plasma levels with respect to percent body fat is maintained in individuals with little body fat. © 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 26: 283–288, 1999.