A Study of Serum Ghrelin Levels in Obese Individuals

Background Obesity is a common nutritional problem faced by world today. The common causes of obesity are sedentary life, improper eating habits, stress, smoking, alcoholism apart from genetically determined factors. Obesity is a proved risk factor in atherosclerosis, CHD, stroke, sleep apnoea, and numerous malignancies. Ghrelin is a hunger hormone and its levels vary physiologically with appetite and satiety. Aim To study and analyse the serum level of ghrelin levels in obese individuals. Methods The study includes randomly selected (equal male and female) 30 controls and 30 obese individuals. Age group of the individuals lie between 20- 50 years. Individuals with epilepsy, diabetic, endocrine dysfunction, known cardiovascular or GI problems were excluded from the study. Results The results showed no significant sex difference in the serum ghrelin levels (p 0.05). Serum ghrelin levels are reduced significantly with p value 0.000 in obese. Conclusion Serum Ghrelin levels are significantly reduced in obese individuals irrespective of sex.