The purpose of this study was firstly to evaluate the
adipokines and biochemical changes in obese subjects in relation to different grades of
obesity and in relation to gender difference (males versus females) and secondly to evaluate the role of TNF-α in
obesity. From January 2013 to February 2014, a total number of 120 non-diabetic subjects of both sexes were recruited and randomly selected from Dr. Abd-Elhamid Elsheikh center for physiotherapy and weight control, El-menofia-Egypt. Those subjects were classified according to their sex into two main groups; the female group and the male group. The female group (60 women) was distributed according to BMI into group 1 (15 lean women), group 2 (15 class I obese women), group 3 (15 class II obese women), and group 4 (15 class III obese women). The male group (60 men) was also distributed according to the BMI into group 1 (15 lean men), group 2 (15 class I obese men), group 3 (15 class II obese men), and group 4 (15 class III obese men). All individuals enrolled in the study were submitted to weight and height measurements with subsequent calculation of body mass index. Fasting blood samples were collected from all participants for quantitative determination of
blood glucose, serum
lipid, TNF-α,
leptin, and
adiponectin levels. One-way analysis of variance followed by
LSD post hoc test was used for comparison of variables. In obese subjects of both sexes, it was found that circulating
leptin and TNF-α levels were significantly high (P<0.05) and positively correlated to BMI. In contrast to
leptin,
adiponectin concentrations were significantly low (P<0.05) and inversely correlated to BMI. Regarding gender difference, although serum
leptin and
adiponectin levels were higher in women than men, men showed higher atherogenic parameters. We conclude that
leptin, TNF-α, and
adiponectin were related to both BMI and grades of
obesity. Furthermore, TNF-α may play a role in
obesity.