The Changes of Plasma Ghrelin Levels After Exercise in Obese Women

Kang, Eun Young; Kim, Min Sun; Park, Eun Hye; Kim, Ki Jin; Lee, Dae Yeol

Abstract

PURPOSE: Ghrelin is the known orexigenic hormone as well as an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and has been shown to be related with the regulation of energy homeostasis. To investigate the changes of plasma ghrelin levels in response to weight loss induced by exercise, we measured fasting plasma ghrelin levels in obese and control groups before and after exercise intervention.
METHODS
According to body mass index (BMI), total 32 adult women were divided into obese group (n=14, BMI> or =25 kg/m2) and control group (n=18, BMI<25 kg/m2). All subjects underwent weight reduction exercise intervention for 3 months. Before and after exercise, we measured body compositions, serum lipid profiles, serum glucose, plasma ghrelin levels in all subjects.
RESULTS
At baseline, the plasma ghrelin levels in obese group were significantly lower than those in the control group. After the exercise intervention, the plasma ghrelin levels increased significantly from 174.8+/-40.8 to 235.9+/-53.1 pg/mL (P<0.05) in obese group and from 244.4+/-42.6 to 276.5+/-45.1 pg/mL (P<0.05) in control group. The changes of plasma ghrelin levels in obese group (38.7+/-30.8 pg/mL) were significantly higher than those of the control group (14.6+/-20.3 pg/mL, P<0.05). However, there was no significant relationship between the changes of plasma ghrelin levels and various parameters in the obese group after exercise.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the plasma ghrelin levels in obese adults were significantly increased than those in the control group associated with exercise-induced weight loss. Further studies are needed to establish the precise roles of ghrelin in the regulation of energy homeostasis in obesity.