title: Comparative Study of Serum Leptin and Insulin Resistance Levels Between Korean Postmenopausal Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Women.
abstract: The present study was conducted to compare serum leptin and insulin resistance levels between Korean postmenopausal long-term semi-vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Subjects of this study belonged to either a group of postmenopausal vegetarian women (n = 54), who maintained a semi-vegetarian diet for over 20 years or a group of non-vegetarian controls. Anthropometric characteristics, serum leptin, serum glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance), and nutrient intake were compared between the two groups. The vegetarians showed significantly lower body weight (p < 0.01), body mass index (p < 0.001), percentage (%) of body fat (p < 0.001), and serum levels of leptin (p < 0.05), glucose (p < 0.001), and insulin (p < 0.01), than the non-vegetarians. The HOMA-IR of the vegetarians was significantly lower than that of the non-vegetarians (p < 0.01) after adjustment for the % of body fat. A long-term vegetarian diet might be related to lower insulin resistance independent of the % of body fat in postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Korea National University of Transportation, Jeungpyeong 368-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Hyun
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Food Science and Culinary Arts, Shinhan University, Uijeongbu 480-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun-Jung
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Bae
keywords: Insulin resistance; Leptin; Non-vegetarians; Vegetarians