Levels of leptin, irisin, oxytocin and insulin in obese and normal weight Iraqi young men

Introduction and Aim: Obesity is a serious, life-threatening health condition that is prevalent in Iraq and the world as a whole. Since Leptin, irisin, oxytocin and insulin are proposed to play main roles in energy expenditure, glucose homeostasis, regulating body weight, reducing obesity and improving life expectancy so the aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of these anti-obesity hormones plus insulin resistance Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 100 obese young men with a mean age of 29.95 years and fifty normal weight young men with a mean age of 28.44. Results: In obese men, the mean leptin concentration was 24.08±9.91 ng/ml which was significantly higher than in normal weight men 5.48 ng/ml. Serum irisin levels in obese men and normal weight were 8.9 ng/ml, 2.4 ng/ml respectively, and it was significantly higher in obese group in comparison to the normal weight group. The mean serum oxytocin concentration was significantly lower in obese group 6.41pg/ml in comparison to normal weight 29.55 pg/ml. Serum insulin levels in obese and normal weight were 19.55±5.56 and 3.64 micro lU/ml respectively and it was significantly higher in obese men. The mean fasting blood glucose concentration in obese men was 98.67mg/dl and it was significantly higher than in normal weight 84±9.85 mg/ml. Insulin resistance (HOMA IR) was significantly higher in obese men 6.6 than in normal weight 0.68. Conclusion: Serum levels of leptin, irisin, insulin, and insulin resistance are higher in obese young men, while oxytocin levels were noticeably low. Our study also shows that obesity increases the likelihood of insulin resistance.