Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the thyroid hormones (T3, T4) and its regulatory hormone (TSH) levels in obese women with sedentary life style. The studied population consists of 180 female subjects of age group 20-45 years. The subjects were divided into three categories on the basis of body mass index: normal weight subjects (n= 60) overweight subjects (n=60) and obese subjects (n=60). Thyroid hormone levels were assessed by commercially available Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. It was observed that thyroid functionswere normal in range in all subjects but when comparison was done between the groups using one way ANOVA, the serum T3 concentration was significantly low in obese and overweight subjects in comparison with normal weight subjects (p = 0.005). Serum T4 concentration was significantly lowers in overweight and obese subjects in comparison to normal weight (p = 0.005). Serum TSH concentration was significantly higher in obese in comparison with normal weight (p = 0.005) while it was not significantly higher in overweight subjects (p = 0.05).