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Effect of high-fat meals and fatty acid saturation on postprandial levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin in healthy men

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 60, pages 77–84 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

Ghrelin and leptin play a role in control of food intake and adiposity but mechanisms regulating these hormones in man are poorly defined and evidence that dietary fats may have adverse effects is inconclusive. We investigated whether high-fat meals, which differed in saturated fatty acid (SFA) content acutely modified these hormones.

Design:

Randomised, double-blind, crossover trial. A high-fat (HF) test meal (59±4 g fat; 71% of energy as fat) was given for breakfast on two occasions. Meals comprised either high (∼70:30) or low (∼55:45) saturated:unsaturated fatty acid (SFA:USFA) ratio. Fasting and postprandial measurements of serum total ghrelin (RIA), leptin (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)) and insulin (RIA) were made over 6 h. Postprandial measurements were also made at 10 and 24 h following a fat-exclusion lunch, snack and dinner.

Subjects:

A total of 18 lean, healthy men.

Results:

There was no significant effect of the fatty meal (time, P>0.05), nor a differential effect of SFA:USFA ratio (treatment*time, P>0.05) on ghrelin over 6 h. Leptin decreased in response to both HF treatments (time, P<0.001) but increased SFA content did not further inhibit hormone secretion (treatment*time, P>0.05). There was no significant correlation between ghrelin or leptin and circulating insulin (P>0.05).

Conclusion:

We conclude that HF diets may adversely effect serum leptin, although the circadian decrease may account in part for this response. Increasing dietary SFAs had no deleterious effects on leptin or total ghrelin.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Glyn Muir who managed the metabolic kitchen throughout this trial, Veronica McPhee for her assistance in the laboratory during an undergraduate studentship, and Cynthia Tse who provided administrative support. We also thank all of the participants in this intervention trial.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Nutrition & Metabolic Unit, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    S D Poppitt, F E Leahy, G F Keogh & Y K Chan

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    S D Poppitt, F E Leahy, G F Keogh, Y Wang, T B Mulvey, M Stojkovic, Y K Chan, Y S Choong & G J S Cooper

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    S D Poppitt & G J S Cooper

  4. Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    B H McArdle

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  1. S D Poppitt
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Correspondence to S D Poppitt.

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Guarantor: SD Poppitt.

Contributors: SDP—Principal investigator, Senior author. Protocol design, Subject supervision, Phlebotomy, Fund raiser; FEL—Trial Manager (laboratory and data handling): Laboratory management, Data entry & cleaning. Statistical liason; GFK—Trial Manager (subjects). Protocol design, Subject recruitment, Subject screening, Subject trial supervision, Diet design, Phlebotomy, Sample collection and storage; YW—Senior laboratory analyst. ELISA—Leptin; TBM—Laboratory analyst; MS—Senior laboratory analyst. RIA—Ghrelin; YKC— PhD student. Laboratory analyses; YSC—Senior laboratory analyst. RIA—Insulin; BHM—Biostatistician; GJSC—Head of group. Protocol design, Medical supervision, Fund raiser.

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Poppitt, S., Leahy, F., Keogh, G. et al. Effect of high-fat meals and fatty acid saturation on postprandial levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin in healthy men. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 77–84 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602270

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