Sex difference in the influence of obesity on the 24 hr mean plasma concentration of cortisol

Abstract The 24 hr mean plasma cortisol concentration was measured in 65 healthy women ranging from 21% below to 218% above desirable weight and in 47 healthy men ranging from 5% below to 330% above desirable weight. In the women, there was a clear-cut inverse linear correlation between the plasma cortisol concentration and the percent deviation from desirable weight ( y = 7.5 − 0.3 x; r = −0.49; p p