[Blood levels of insulin and growth hormone during exercise test in obese patients with normal glucose tolerance and with diabetes mellitus after food intake and fasting].

Ten obese patients with normal glucose tolerance, 11 obese with type II diabetes and 15 normal non-obese controls were studied. The submaximal exercise test was made before fasting in all the mentioned 3 groups of patients and in the obese patients after a 10 days fast. The exercise on normal diet did not cause any changes in serum insulin in all groups. The growth hormone secretion, however, rose in all the groups studied. Fasting did not modify the insulin secretion following the exercise in both groups of the obese. The growth hormone secretion, exercise stimulated, was elevated by fasting as well in the obese with normal and abnormal glucose tolerance. We believe that a marked energetic deficit due to exercise on fasting may supplement the deficit of the growth hormone which usually occurs in obesity. This might be therapeutically usefull in treating obesity in selected cases.