Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on December 2, 2004
Human Reproduction 2005 20(2):382-389; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh615
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Maternal recreational physical activity is associated with plasma leptin concentrations in early pregnancy
1 Center for Perinatal Studies, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, 2 Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle, Washington and 3 Obstetrix Medical Group, Seattle, Washington, USA
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Center for Perinatal Studies (Suite 4 North), Swedish Medical Center, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122, USA. Email: mwilliam{at}u.washington.edu
BACKGROUND: A limited amount of literature suggests that plasma leptin concentrations are reduced with habitual physical activity in men and non-pregnant women. We investigated the relationship between maternal physical activity and plasma leptin during early pregnancy. METHODS: The study population included 879 normotensive, non-diabetic pregnant women who reported physical activity type, frequency, and duration in early pregnancy. Plasma leptin, measured in blood samples collected <16 weeks gestation, were determined using enzyme immunoassays. Weekly duration (h/week) and energy expended on recreational physical activity [metabolic equivalent score (MET)-h/week] were categorized by tertiles among active women. Physical activity intensity was categorized as none, moderate (<6 MET) and vigorous (
6 MET). Differences in leptin concentrations across categories were estimated using linear regression procedures. RESULTS: Mean leptin was 5.8 ng/ml lower among active versus inactive women (P=0.001). Mean leptin was lower among women in the highest levels (>12.8 h/week) of time performing physical activity (–8.1 ng/ml, P<0.001) and energy expenditure (>70.4 MET-h/week) (–8.3 ng/ml, P=0.001) compared with inactive women. Leptin was inversely associated with the intensity of physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are consistent with other reports suggesting an independent inverse relationship between habitual physical activity and leptin concentrations. Our findings extend the literature to include pregnant women.
Key words: body mass index/leptin/obesity/physical activity/pregnancy