Obesity has become one of the most common medical problems in developed countries, and this disorder is associated with high incidences of
hypertension, dyslipidaemia,
cardiovascular disease,
type 2 diabetes mellitus and specific
cancers.
Growth hormone (GH) stimulates the production of
insulin-like growth factor 1 in most tissues, and together GH and
insulin-like growth factor 1 exert powerful collective actions on fat,
protein and
glucose metabolism. Clinical trials assessing the effects of GH treatment in patients with
obesity have shown consistent reductions in total adipose tissue mass, in particular abdominal and visceral adipose tissue depots. Moreover, studies in patients with
abdominal obesity demonstrate a marked effect of GH
therapy on body composition and on
lipid and
glucose homeostasis. Therefore, administration of recombinant human GH or activation of endogenous GH production has great potential to influence the onset and metabolic consequences of
obesity. However, the clinical use of GH is not without controversy, given conflicting results regarding its effects on
glucose metabolism. This Review provides an introduction to the role of GH in
obesity and summarizes clinical and preclinical data that describe how GH can influence the obese state.