253-OR: Plasma Ghrelin Changes and Successful Weight Loss in Patients with Obesity: The POUNDS Lost Trial

Abstract

The orexigenic gut hormone, ghrelin, has been implicated in the regulation of appetite, energy homeostasis, and adiposity. We investigated associations of plasma ghrelin changes after consuming weight loss diets with improvements in general adiposity, body fat accumulation, and energy metabolism among overweight and obese adults. We also tested whether short-term ghrelin changes in response to weight-loss diets were predictive of long-term successful weight loss. This study included 217 overweight and obese adults who participated in a weight-loss diet intervention study, the POUNDS Lost trial. Plasma ghrelin levels were measured at baseline and 6 months after the intervention. We examined associations of the 6-month changes in plasma ghrelin levels from the baseline with changes in weight, waist circumference (WC), body fat composition assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), fat distribution assessed by CT scans, and resting energy expenditure (REE). At baseline, higher ghrelin levels were significantly associated with lower adiposity (weight, WC, and body fat composition) and REE (p <0.05 for all). We found that plasma ghrelin levels tended to be increased at 6 months after the intervention among the total participants (with a median 6-month change of 77 pg/ml). Greater increases in plasma ghrelin were associated with larger decreases in weight (p <0.001), WC (p =0.002), trunk fat % (p <0.001), whole-body fat % (p <0.001), total adipose tissue (p=0.007), as well as REE (p=0.01). Further, greater 6-month increases in ghrelin levels were significantly associated with the achievement of successful weight loss (-5% or more weight reduction) at 1 year (P for linear trend=0.0059). Our study suggests that weight-loss diet-induced increases in ghrelin are associated with improvements in adiposity and body fat composition. Plasma ghrelin changes in response to weight-loss diets may be predictive of long-term weight loss success among patients with overweight and obesity. Disclosure Y. Heianza: None. Q. Xue: None. G. Bray: None. F. Sacks: None. L. Qi: None. J. Tong: None. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK091718, DK100383, DK115679)