Hormonal alterations on young morbid obese women

BACKGROUND: Human obesity is a widespread disease with considerable variabi lity as to its severity, metabolic and endocrine manifestations and etiolog y. In the present study we have determined whether the alterations of uncom plicated severe obesity in adult young women affect with different intensit y the circulating levels of hormones that have been postulated to intervene in the development and maintenance of obesity. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Age-matched 20 mobidly obese (BMI 52.6 [8.3 SD] kg/m(2 )) 10 normal-weight control women (BMI 19.9 [2.1 SD] kg/m(2)) were studied and determined the basal circulating levels of hormones and proteins relate d with the control of body weight. RESULTS: Obese women showed higher concentrations of insulin and leptin, an d lower of cortisol and cortisol-binding globulin (CBG). No significant dif ferences were appreciated for free thyroxine, TSH, free and acylestrone and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that morbid obesity implies the alteration of the main hormonal systems controlling the availability of energy and th e response to external challenges, with the noteworthy exception of the thy roid. There were clear alterations of insulin and leptin, but cortisol chan ges could be more related to factors other than obesity. The lower than exp ected levels of acylestrone point to a possible deficit of this ponderostat signal in obese women. The relatively young age of the women in the study may account for the relative shallowness of the hormonal changes observed.