Relationship pf multifunctional hormone leptin with anthropometry, aerobic capacity and physical activity in peripuberal boys.

The regulation of body mass is a topic of major concern for health worldwide and the number of obese children and adolescents has increased in the past ten years (Ogden et al. 2012). Obesity can often begin in childhood, and the transition between childhood and adolescence (peripubertal phase) is a critical stage for the physical development of healthy children (Martos-Moreno et al. 2013). Leptin has been shown to be the key hormone involved in fat metabolism in children and to some extent predict body fat accumulation (Kettaneh et al. 2007).