Relationship Between Serum Cortisol and Dietary Behavior in Non Diabetes Obese Cameroonian People

Background: Dietary behavior refers to all the behaviors of an individual related to the consumption of food. In addition to environmental, socio-cultural and cognitive factors, the hormonal system plays an important role in the regulation of food intake. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between the adrenocorticotropic axis and dietary behavior in obese subjects in Cameroon. Methods: This was a cross-sectional and analytical study over a period of 3 months at the National Obesity Center of Yaoundé. We included people who came to a dietetic consultation and had a BMI ≥ 30kg / m2. All patients with a known Cushing’s syndrome, or who taking corticosteroids, as well as any other drug that has an influence on the bioavailability of dexamethasone were excluded. We evaluated the corticotropic axis by quantitative determination of plasma cortisol before and after the overnight dexamethasone suppression test. After the clinical examination, the eating behavior was assessed using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire Test (TFEQ-R18). Results: We included 25 patients (15 women and 10 men) aged 54 ± 10 years and with an average BMI of 37.8 kg / m2. There was an association between BMI hyperphagia of disinhibition, cognitive restriction and hunger (P <0.0001). There was a significant association between disinhibition hyperphagia, susceptibility to hunger, cognitive restriction, and the level of cortisol after the overnight dexamethasone suppression test (P <0.0001). Conclusion: The strong association between eating disorders, body mass index, and cortisol levels suggests that the adrenocorticotropic axis would influence dietary behavior in obese subjects.