RELATIONSHIP OF SERUM LEPTIN TO TOTAL AND TRUNCAL BODY-FAT

1, In this study we investigated the relationship between serum leptin levels and body fat distribution in a random sample of women of widel y ranging age and body mass index, Anthropometry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were used to measure body fat and its distribution, 2, Leptin levels (log transformed) were not significantly correlated,vit h age, but were significantly positively correlated (P<0.001) with mos t anthropometric measures except waist-to-hip circumference ratio, The strongest correlations were with total grams of body fat and percenta ge body fat (r = 0.68 and 0.76 respectively, P < 0.001), When correcte d for percentage body fat the partial correlation coefficients for all other measures became non-significant, The correlation with truncal b ody fat fell significantly from 0.66 to -0.05 after correction, but th e partial correlation with total body fat remained significant (P<0.00 5) when grams of truncal fat were controlled for (r = 0.21), 3, These results indicate that the relationship of serum leptin to percentage b ody fat is the strongest, and that truncal body fat, although the most metabolically active, does not appear to have an independent associat ion with serum leptin.