The relationship between the leptin/ghrelin ratio and meals with various macronutrient contents in men with different nutritional status: a randomized crossover study

Abstract

Background: Hormones, which influence satiety and hunger, play a significant role in body energy balance regulation. Ghrelin is a peptide that plays an important role in short-term appetite regulation, whereas leptin is a factor that controls long-term energy balance and is considered as a satiety hormone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the leptin/ghrelin ratio in a fasting state and after the intake of meals with varying macronutrient contents and to assess the possible differences between normal body weight and overweight/obese men.

Methods: We examined 46 healthy adult men (23 with normal body weight and 23 overweight/obese) aged 21-58, who were divided into two groups. In the crossover study, participants received isocaloric (450 kcal) meals with different macronutrient contents: men from the first group received high-carbohydrate (HC) and normo-carbohydrate (NC) meals, and in the second group, participants received high-carbohydrate and high-fat (HF) meals. The ratio of leptin/ghrelin levels was calculated from leptin and total ghrelin serum concentrations in a fasting state and 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after meal intake. One-way ANOVA and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were carried out. The normality of the variable distribution was checked with the Shapiro-Wilk test, the homogeneity of variances was verified with the Levene test, and the false discovery rate p-value adjustment method was used.

Results: The leptin/ghrelin ratio was significantly higher in overweight/obese men than individuals with normal body weight in a fasting state, as well as postprandially. We observed trends towards a higher leptin/ghrelin ratio values from the 60 min after HC-meal intake compared to the NC- and HF-meals in normal body weight participants, while in overweight/obese men, we did not note any significant differences dependent on the meal type.

Conclusions: We have observed a significantly different postprandial leptin/ghrelin ratio in normal body weight and overweight/obese men, and our results suggest that in men with normal body weight, a greater feeling of satiety may occur after high-carbohydrate meal intake, which was not noted in the overweight/obese individuals.

Keywords: High-carbohydrate meal; High-fat meal; Leptin/ghrelin ratio; Normal body weight men; Normo-carbohydrate meal; Overweight/obesity; Postprandial state.

Fig. 1

Study design. HC-meal (high-carbohydrate meal); NC-meal (normo-carbohydrate meal); HF-meal (high-fat meal)

Fig. 2

Comparison of the leptin/ghrelin ratio between normal body weight and overweight/obese men. The results are presented as mean values ± SE. N1, broken line- men with normal body weight; O/O1, solid line- overweight/obese subjects; HC- high-carbohydrate meal; NC- normo-carbohydrate meal. The comparison between the N1 and O/O1 study groups after HC-meal intake *p < 0.05, and after NC-meal intake **p < 0.05

Fig. 3

Comparison of the leptin/ghrelin ratio between normal body weight and overweight/obese men. The results are presented as mean values ± SE. N2, broken line- men with normal body weight; O/O2, solid line- overweight/obese subjects; HC- high-carbohydrate meal; HF- high-fat meal. The comparison between the N2 and O/O2 study groups after HC-meal intake *p < 0.05, and after HF-meal intake **p < 0.05