The Relationship Among Plasma leptin, Blood lipids, Body Composition and Resting Metabolic Rate among Physical Education Students at An-Najah National University

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between plasma leptin, blood lipids, body composition and resting metabolic rate among physical education students at An- Najah National University. Furthermore, to determine the differences in these variables according to gender. The sample of the study consisted of (40) Subjects (20) Males and (20) Females, The means of their age, height, weight and Body Mass Index were respectively:( 23.15 years , 1.76 m , 72.75 kg ,and 23,34 kg/m2). In order to measure Leptin hormone in blood serum an ELIZA System Reader shaker and incubator Stat fax 2200 was used, We also used Stat Fax 1904 plus to measure the blood lipids and we measured body composition and Resting Metabolic Rate by using Tanita TBF-410. After data collection which was statistically analyzed by using Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) by using means and standard deviation, Person Correlation, Simple Regression and Independent t-test. The results revealed that the means of plasma leptin concentration for males was 2.33 ng/ml and for females was 9.90 ng/ml ,and the results revealed that plasma leptin concentrations was significantly correlated with body mass, body mass index, fat free mass, body fat percent, fat mass, and resting metabolic rate, the results of person Correlations for males were respectively: (0.57, 0.67, 0.38, 0.74, 0.73, 0.52) and for females were respectively: (0.70, 0.62, 0.49, 0.70, 0.76, 0.70), and for total sample were respectively: (0.56, 0.62, 0.39, 0.74, 0.64, 0.54), the best Correlation for males was between plasma leptin and body fat percent, where the value was (0.74), the best Correlation for females was between plasma leptin and body fat mass the value was (0.76), the best Correlation for total sample was between plasma leptin and body fat percent, the value was (0.74). In addition, the results of Regression (R2) contribute in developing three equations for the prediction of plasma leptin using body fat percent and fat mass as follow: - Male: Plasma Leptin (ng/ml) = (0.576) +(0.121 ×% Body Fat) - Female: Plasma Leptin (ng/ml) = (-3.423) +(1.014 × Body Fat Mass kg) - Total sample: Plasma Leptin (ng/ml) =(-7.010) +(0.716 × %Body Fat) In addition, the results revealed that there were no significant correlations between plasma leptin concentrations and blood lipids (LDL, HDL, TG, and TC). Also, the results revealed that there were a significant differences at (α=0.05) in plasma leptin, body mass index, fat free mass, body fat percentage, fat mass, and resting metabolic rate between males and females, the differences were in favor to the males in body mass index, fat free mass and resting metabolic rate, and in favor to females in plasma leptin, body fat percentage, and fat mass, while, there were no significant deference’s at (α=0.05) in blood lipids (LDL,HDL,TG,TC) between males and females. Based on the findings of the study the researcher recommended the following: 1- Generalized the results of this study, to the Palestinian Universities, sports clubs, fitness centers and health, and sports federations; to take advantage when measuring levels of the leptin hormone. 2- Conduct similar studies on different samples, especially the athletes in the different Palestinian universities and the various Palestinian clubs; for developing predictive equations for measuring the leptin. 3- The possibility of using both the percentage of fat and fat mass to predict the levels of the leptin hormone in both male and female physical education students in Palestinian Universities. Key Words: Plasma leptin, Blood Lipids, Body Composition, Resting Metabolic Rate, Physical Education Students, An-Najah National University.