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Centrally located body fat is related to appetitive hormones in healthy postmenopausal women.

Human Metabolic Unit, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, 1115 Human Nutritional Sciences Building, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA¹ School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614, USA² USDA ARS,, Western Human Nutrition Research Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA and ³ Department of Statistics,, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

(Correspondence should be addressed to D L Alekel; Email: alekel{at}iastate.edu)

Objective: Body composition and energy homeostasis are thought to affect the appetitive hormones: adiponectin, leptin, insulin, and ghrelin. This study examined whether centrally located fat and/or overall adiposity were related to these appetitive hormones in healthy postmenopausal women.

Design: Overall and regional body composition was assessed by dual-energy X ray absorptiometry in relation to plasma adiponectin, serum leptin, serum insulin, and plasma ghrelin in 242 postmenopausal women.

Results: Regression analyses revealed that the androidal-to-gynoidal fat mass ratio (18.0%), age (3.2%), and white blood cell count (1.8%) accounted for 28% of the variability in adiponectin (F=22.2; P<0.0001); androidal (waist+hip) fat mass (66.0%), androidal fat mass² (6.2%), whole-body lean mass (2.2%), and age (0.8%) accounted for 69% of the variability in leptin (F=102.5; P<0.0001). Regression analyses revealed that sagittal abdominal diameter (8.4%), glucose (5.4%), white blood cell count (2.6%), and dietary -3 fatty acids (2.0%) accounted for 32% of the variability in insulin (F=20.8; P<0.0001); waist circumference (12.7%), hip lean mass (2.0%), and white blood cell count (1.9%) accounted for 26% of the variability in ghrelin (F=20.7; P<0.0001). Our results indicated that centralized fat mass was the primary contributor to these appetitive hormones in healthy postmenopausal women.

Conclusion: Since central adiposity in postmenopausal women was related to appetitive hormones, minimizing weight gain during the menopausal transition may optimize appetitive hormones, thereby facilitating appetite control and weight maintenance.