Resting energy expenditure and plasma leptin levels in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to examine the relationship between resting energy expenditure (REE) and circulating leptin levels during long-term refeeding in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN).

METHOD

We measured REE, the plasma leptin level, the free T(3) level, body surface area (BSA), and dietary energy intake in AN adolescents before and 8 weeks after refeeding therapy.

RESULTS

All parameters in AN subjects before the refeeding therapy were significantly lower than those in AN subjects after the therapy and in the controls. There were no significant differences in REE and BSA between posttherapy AN subjects and controls, but plasma leptin levels in the posttherapy AN subjects were still significantly lower than those in the controls. Significant correlations between REE and BSA were detected in the AN subjects both before and after the refeeding therapy, but REE did not correlate significantly with plasma leptin level in either of the AN groups.

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that the REE in AN subjects after long-term refeeding therapy is not associated with the changes in plasma leptin levels but with BSA.