Serum leptin concentration in Tunisian non obese children.

Leptin, an adipocyte-derived peptide hormone, is thought to play a key role in the regulation of body fat mass. Beyond this function, it appears to be an integral component of various hypothalamo-pituitary-endocrine feedback loops. Because childhood and puberty are periods of major metabolic and endocrine changes, we investigated leptin levels in 348 non overweight, non obese children (147 boys, 201 girls, age: 6-12 years) and then correlated these levels with age, anthropometric data, pubertal stage and insulin.