Abstract
BackgroundThe relationship between BMI and leptin has been studied extensively in the past, but previous reports in postmenopausal women have not been conducted under carefully controlled dietary conditions of weight maintenance using precise measures of body fat distribution. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between serum leptin concentration and adiposity as estimated by BMI and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) measures (percent body fat, central and peripheral fat, and lean mass) in postmenopausal women.MethodsThis study was conducted as a cross-sectional analysis within the control segment of a randomized, crossover trial in which postmenopausal women (n = 51) consumed 0 (control), 15 (one drink), and 30 (two drinks) g alcohol (ethanol)/d for 8 weeks as part of a controlled diet. BMIs were determined and DEXA scans were administered to the women during the 0 g alcohol treatment, and a blood sample was collected at baseline and week 8 of each study period for leptin analysis.Results and discussionIn multivariate analysis, women who were overweight (BMI > 25 to ≤ 30 kg/m2) had a 2-fold increase, and obese women (BMI > 30 kg/m2) had more than a 3-fold increase in serum leptin concentrations compared to normal weight (BMI ≤25 kg/m2) women. When the models for the different measures of adiposity were assessed by multiple R2, models which included percent body fat explained the highest proportion (approximately 80%) of the serum leptin variance.ConclusionUnder carefully controlled dietary conditions, we confirm that higher levels of adiposity were associated with higher concentrations of serum leptin. It appears that percent body fat in postmenopausal women may be the best adiposity-related predictor of serum leptin.
Highlights
The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and leptin has been studied extensively in the past, but previous reports in postmenopausal women have not been conducted under carefully controlled dietary conditions of weight maintenance using precise measures of body fat distribution
Under carefully controlled dietary conditions, we confirm that higher levels of adiposity were associated with higher concentrations of serum leptin
Circulating leptin concentration is highly correlated with body mass index (BMI) [10,11], and percent body fat [8,9], but less is known about the relations between body fat distribution and lean mass to leptin concentrations in postmenopausal women under carefully controlled dietary conditions of weight maintenance
Summary
The relationship between BMI and leptin has been studied extensively in the past, but previous reports in postmenopausal women have not been conducted under carefully controlled dietary conditions of weight maintenance using precise measures of body fat distribution. The role of adiposity and lean body mass in postmenopausal breast cancer is important because three-fourths of breast cancer cases and deaths occur in women over 50 years of age [3], and general obesity [4] as well as central adiposity [5,6] are risk factors for postmenopausal breast cancer While it is not completely clear how obesity results in postmenopausal breast carcinogenesis, it has been ascribed to an excess of circulating estrogens resulting from the conversion of androgens into estrogens through aromatization in adipose tissue [7]. This is important because both diet and exercise alter serum leptin levels [12,13,14]
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