CORTISOL SECRETION RATE AND URINARY CORTICOID EXCRETION IN NORMAL AND OBESE SUBJECTS

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Abstract
The adrenocortical function has been studied in 18 obese patients and in 20 normal subjects. The cortisol secretion rate and the urinary excretion of 17-ketogenic steroids are significantly higher in the obese than in the normal subjects. Yet a great deal of overlapping exists among the groups. Highly significant correlations are found between cortisol secretion or 17-ketogenic excretion on the one hand, and body weight, body surface area or degree of obesity on the other, among pooled normal and obese individuals. When the values are related to body surface area or to actual body weight, the figures for normal and obese people are not significantly different. These data suggest that the increased cortisol secretion in moderately obese people is a function of the increase in their tissues mass.