Skip to main content
. 2012 Oct 11;11:19. doi: 10.1186/2251-6581-11-19

Table 2.

Hormones associated with the development and maintenance of lean body tissue and the impact of adiposity and exercise on the production and release by endocrine glands

Hormone Endocrine Gland Tissue Influenced by Hormone (Metabolic response to signal) Impact of Over-fatness Impact of Physical Activity (Acute) Impact of Physical Activity (Chronic)
Testosterone/Adrenal Androgens [72-82]
Testes Adrenal Cortex
Skeletal Muscle (hypertrophy, add contractile tissue)
↓ with associated ↑ in SHBG
↑ followed by ↓
↔, ↑,↓
Bone (add bone mass)
Adipose Tissue (break-down lipid)
Growth Hormone [83-86]
Anterior Pituitary Gland
Liver (generate IGF, gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis)
↓ with associated ↑ in GHBP
↑ followed by ↓
↔, ↑,↓
Skeletal Muscle (hypertrophy, add non-contractile tissue)
Bone (add bone mass)
Adipose Tissue (break-down lipid for use as fuel source)
Insulin [32,44,54,87-96]
Pancreas
Skeletal Muscle (glucose, amino acid, lipid uptake and storage)
↑ (see Figure 8 for rational)
↑ during exercise bout, ↓following

Liver (glucose uptake and storage)
Adipose Tissue (glucose and lipid uptake and storage)
Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) [86,97-103]
Liver, Skeletal Muscle, Bone
Skeletal Muscle (hypertrophy, add non-contractile and contractile protein)
↓ with associated ↑ in IGF-BP
↑followed by ↓
↔, ↑,↓
Bone (add bone mass)
Cortisol [60,84]
Adrenal Cortex
Skeletal Muscle (break-down of protein tissue, lipid break-down, decreased use of glucose)
↑(see Figure 8 for rational)
↑ during exercise bout, ↓following
↔,↓
Bone (break-down of protein matrix)
Liver (glycogenolysis)
Adipose Tissue (break-down lipid for use as fuel source)
Immune Cells (regulation of inflammatory response)
Triiodothyronine (T3) [104,105]
Thyroid
Skeletal Muscle (regulation of metabolism and fuel source utilization)
↓ (Hypothyroidism associated with obesity unknown causal relationship)
↑ during exercise bout, ↓following 60 minutes of recovery
↔,↑
Bone (regulation of generation of protein matrix)
Adipose Tissue (regulation of lipid deposition and utilization)
Thyroxin (T4) [104,105] Thyroid Skeletal Muscle (regulation of metabolism and fuel source utilization)
↓ (Hypothyroidism associated with obesity unknown causal relationship) ↑ following exercise bout, ↓following 120 minutes of recovery ↔,↑
Bone (regulation of generation of protein matrix)
Adipose Tissue (regulation of lipid deposition and utilization)

Note that ↑ indicates an increase in production and release, ↓indicates a decrease in production and release, ↔ indicates no effect in production and release, and ? Indicates unknown response.