Relationship of Leptin, Resting Metabolic Rate, and Body Composition in PreMenopausal Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Women

Abstract

Objective. The purpose was to evaluate the relationships between fasting serum leptin, resting metabolic rate (RMR), and body composition in premenopausal Hispanic and non-Hispanic White (White) women. Methods. Participants were 67 Hispanic and 43 White women who arrived at the laboratory in a fasted state for measurement of RMR by indirect calorimetry, bone mineral content measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and body density measured by hydrodensitometry. Serum leptin levels were determined by EIA. Results. Multiple regression analysis revealed that body mass and lean body mass were the best predictors of RMR. Leptin was not a significant predictor of RMR. Conclusion. Further research needs to be done to examine the role of leptin on metabolism, especially in ethnic groups predisposed to development of obesity and related disorders.

Keywords:

• Hormone
• Ethnicity
• RMR
• Human

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHHD) (P 20 MD000548) through the Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center of the University of Texas at El Paso; and in part supported by Grant Number 5G12RR008124 [to the Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC)/University of Texas at El Paso] from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the NIH. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NCMHHD, NCRR, or NIH. The authors would like to thank Dr. Kristin Gosselink for laboratory support and Bernadette Franco, Charlie Potter, Carlos Sifuentes, and Clare Spence-Highfield for their help with data collection for the study.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.