Energy expenditure, body composition, and biochemical indicators in healthy community women

A cross-sectional study was conducted on the associations between energy expenditure (EE), body composition (lean mass, fat mass, body mass index), and biochemical indicators (leptin, glucagon, insulin, cortisol, and triglycerides) among 17 sedentary African-American and Caucasian women living in the community (age, 40.7+/-6.0 years; body mass index, 32.8+/-9.0 kg/m2). Measurements included total, resting, and sleeping EE (via whole-room indirect calorimetery), body composition (via air-displacement plethysmography), body mass index, and biochemical indicators (leptin, glucagon, cortisol, insulin, and triglycerides). Analysis of associations between EE and body composition showed that EE increased with increasing body size, with lean mass explaining 79%, 71%, and 73% of the variability in total, resting, and sleeping EE, respectively. Analysis of associations between body composition and the biochemical indicators showed that leptin, glucagon, and insulin were positively correlated with increasing body size, whereas cortisol was negatively correlated with increasing body size. Analysis of associations between EE and biochemical indicators prior to controlling for body size showed that leptin was positively correlated with EE, and that the correlation between leptin and sleeping EE was significantly greater than the correlation between leptin and resting EE. After controlling for body size, the correlations between leptin and EE were no longer significant, and the partial correlation between leptin and sleeping EE was no longer significantly different from the partial correlation between leptin and resting EE. Glucagon was positively correlated with EE, but not after controlling for body composition. Future research should incorporate the use of sleeping EE in addition to resting EE, since clearly, for some biochemicals such as leptin and glucagon, this distinction is important. Methodological improvements may provide better insight into the effects of obesity modulating hormones.