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Appetite altered by obesity, sex in adolescents
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Obesity, sex and pubertal status may affect macronutrient-stimulated appetite hormone secretion in adolescents after the ingestion of a whey protein drink, according to data recently published in Clinical Endocrinology.
“In obesity, it appears that acute appetite hormone levels and subjective appetite are disconnected, and are in line with the appetite hormone resistance … observed in this study,” researchers wrote.
Barkha P. Patel,PhD, of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional cohort study at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
After a 12-hour fast, normal-weight (five girls and four boys) and obese (five girls and four boys) adolescents, and pre-early pubertal (n=10) and mid-late pubertal (n=10) obese boys were administered a 25-mL glucose and whey protein beverage. Patel and colleagues measured insulin, fasting anorexigenic peptide YY (PYY), ghrelin and appetite for 120 minutes, according to data.
Obese patients (aged 14 to 18 years) in the first experiment demonstrated higher levels of insulin, PYY and lower ghrelin (P<.006) compared with the normal-weight controls.
Moreover, fasting PYY was 1.8-fold higher in obese adolescents compared with normal-weight adolescents (P<.001), researchers wrote.
They observed a more significant effect in boys compared with girls (P<.037), according to data.
Pre-early pubertal and mid-late pubertal obese boys (n=20) in the second experiment did not display a difference in insulin levels (P=.305). However, researchers observed a significant change in PYY related to the protein beverage (P=.032); and ghrelin levels appeared lower in mid-late pubertal compared with pre-early pubertal obese boys (P=.026), according to data.
“Appetite hormone responses to a mixed glucose and [whey protein] drink in adolescents are altered by obesity and sex. Differences between obese and [normal-weight] adolescents include higher insulin and PYY secretion and lower fasting ghrelin, with a blunted ghrelin response to the drink and higher appetite at 60 minutes. Additionally, insulin and PYY responses were significantly greater in males than females. When pubertal stage was examined in obese males (Experiment 2), PYY increases were higher, and ghrelin lower, in mid-late than pre-early puberty,” researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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