Serum Leptin and Lipid Profiles in Thai Obese and Overweight Subjects

The weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio, serum leptin and lipid profiles of 48 overweight (BMI _ 25.00) Thai males and 166 overweight Thai females, compared with 26 males and 81 females in a control group (BMI = 18.5–24.9 kg/m2), were investigated. Subjects for the study were those persons who turned up regularly for physical check-ups at the out-patient department, general practice section of the Rajvithi Hospital, Bangkok. The study was conducted between March–October, 1998. Statistically significantly higher levels of serum leptin, cholesterol, LDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and triglyceride were found in the overweight compared with the control subjects. The median serum leptin concentration in overweight subjects was 19.6 (2.0–60.0 ng/ml) compared with 9.0 (range 1.0–30.0 ng/ml) in the control subjects (p < 0.001). The median values of leptin serum concentrations in the overweight and obese males were significantly higher than those of the overweight and obese females. A total of 66.7% (...