Plain language summary
Obesity is a chronic disease caused mostly by an excessive supply of energy delivered with food in relation to energy expenditure, which leads to fat accumulation. The aim of the study was to investigate the leptin/ghrelin ratio (appetite-regulating hormones) in response to meal intake with various macronutrient contents, and to assess the fasting and postprandial (after meal) differences between normal and overweight or obese men. The study is a crossover designed study which was conducted among 46 non-diabetic men. The participants were randomly divided into two groups. Each group included men with normal weight and overweight/obesity. Results indicate that in normal body weight men, a more beneficial leptin/ghrelin ratio was noted after the high-carbohydrate fat-free meal intake, compared to the normal-carbohydrate/high-protein and high-fat/low-carbohydrate meal. Furthermore, overweight/obese men presented with a significantly higher leptin/ghrelin ratio in a fasting state and after intake of each of the three meals. Authors conclude that overweight/obese individuals can be recommended to chose meals with lower carbohydrate content.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hormones, which influence satiety and hunger, play a significant role in body energy balance regulation. Ghrelin is a peptide that plays an important role in short-term appetite regulation, whereas leptin is a factor that controls long-term energy balance and is considered as a satiety hormone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the leptin/ghrelin ratio in a fasting state and after the intake of meals with varying macronutrient contents and to assess the possible differences between normal body weight and overweight/obese men. METHODS We examined 46 healthy adult men (23 with normal body weight and 23 overweight/obese) aged 21-58, who were divided into two groups. In the crossover study, participants received isocaloric (450 kcal) meals with different macronutrient contents: men from the first group received high-carbohydrate (HC) and normo-carbohydrate (NC) meals, and in the second group, participants received high-carbohydrate and high-fat (HF) meals. The ratio of leptin/ghrelin levels was calculated from leptin and total ghrelin serum concentrations in a fasting state and 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after meal intake. One-way ANOVA and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were carried out. The normality of the variable distribution was checked with the Shapiro-Wilk test, the homogeneity of variances was verified with the Levene test, and the false discovery rate p-value adjustment method was used. RESULTS The leptin/ghrelin ratio was significantly higher in overweight/obese men than individuals with normal body weight in a fasting state, as well as postprandially. We observed trends towards a higher leptin/ghrelin ratio values from the 60 min after HC-meal intake compared to the NC- and HF-meals in normal body weight participants, while in overweight/obese men, we did not note any significant differences dependent on the meal type. CONCLUSIONS We have observed a significantly different postprandial leptin/ghrelin ratio in normal body weight and overweight/obese men, and our results suggest that in men with normal body weight, a greater feeling of satiety may occur after high-carbohydrate meal intake, which was not noted in the overweight/obese individuals.
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