Relationship between circulation serum ghrelin level and obesity in children

Objective To study the correlation of fasting serum ghrelin level with obesity in children.Methods Eight children with simple obesity and twelve healthy children were enrolled in this study.Serum ghrelin levels were determined using ELISA.Blood lipid levels were detected with fully automatic biochemical analyser.Results The levels of serum ghrelin increased significantly in obese children compared to those in healthy children(39.55±21.42ng/ml vs.10.80±5.98ng/ml,P0.01).The level of serum ghrelin was negatively correlated to triglyceride(r=-0.723,P0.05).Conclusion The mean serum ghrelin concentration was higher in obese children than that in the healthy children,indicating that ghrelin may be responsible,at least in part,for the hyperphagia observed in obese children.