Obestatin, a recently discovered 23-amino acid peptide, is involved in the regulation of appetite and body weight in antagonistic fashion to ghrelin, both deriving from a common precursor peptide. Ghrelin was shown to be associated with insulin resistance, which may also affect obestatin. We investigated the association between insulin resistance and plasma concentrations of obestatin and ghrelin in nondiabetic individuals with high (IS; n ϭ 18, 13 females and 5 males, age 47 Ϯ 2 yr, BMI ϭ 25.5 Ϯ 0.9 kg/m 2 ) and low (IR; n ϭ 18, 12 females and 6 males, age 45 Ϯ 2 yr, P ϭ 0.49, BMI ϭ 27.5 Ϯ 1.1 kg/m 2 , P ϭ 0.17) insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (M), measured by 2-h hyperinsulinemic (40 mU ⅐ min Ϫ1 ⅐ m Ϫ2 ) isoglycemic clamp tests. M100-120 min was higher in IS (10.7 Ϯ 0.7) than in IR (4.4 Ϯ 0.2 mg ⅐ min Ϫ1 ⅐ kg Ϫ1 , P Ͻ 10 Ϫ9 ), whereas insulin-dependent suppression of free fatty acids (FFA) in plasma was reduced in IR (71 Ϯ 6% vs. IS: 82 Ϯ 5%, P Ͻ 0.02). In both groups, plasma ghrelin concentrations were comparable at fasting and similarly reduced by 24 -28% during insulin infusion. IR had lower fasting plasma obestatin levels (383 Ϯ 26 pg/ml vs. IS: 469 Ϯ 23 pg/ml, P Ͻ 0.02). Clamp insulin infusion reduced plasma obestatin to ϳ81% of basal values in IS (P Ͻ 0.00002), but not in IR. Fasting plasma obestatin was correlated positively with M (r ϭ 0.34, P ϭ 0.04), HDL cholesterol (r ϭ 0.45, P ϭ 0.01), and plasma ghrelin concentrations (r ϭ 0.80, P Ͻ 0.000001) and negatively with measures of adiposity, plasma FFA during clamp (r ϭ Ϫ0.42, P Ͻ 0.01), and systolic blood pressure (r ϭ Ϫ0.33, P Ͻ 0.05). In conclusion, fasting plasma concentrations of obestatin, but not of ghrelin, are reduced in insulin resistance and are positively associated with whole body insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic humans. Furthermore, plasma obestatin is reduced by insulin in insulin-sensitive but not in insulinresistant persons.ghrelin; hyperinsulinemic clamp test; free fatty acids; appetite regulation OBESTATIN, A RECENTLY DISCOVERED 23-amino acid peptide hormone, is derived by posttranslational cleavage of the same peptide precursor (preproghrelin) as ghrelin, which is a 28-amino acid peptide released from the stomach (34, 38). Obestatin appears to have actions opposite to ghrelin in the regulation of food intake, emptying of the stomach, and body weight in rodents and could be part of a dual system connecting the gut and the brain to regulate energy homeostasis (38). However, other recent studies (25, 32, 36) did not provide evidence for a crucial role of obestatin in regulating food intake. Intracerebroventricular and intravenous administration of obestatin in rats did not affect food intake and could not antagonize the ghrelin-stimulated increase in food intake.The administration of ghrelin increased the food intake and body weight in rodents and humans (23,34, 35) and accelerated gastric emptying (10). In the presence of a negative energy balance, such as starvation, cachexia, or anorexia nervosa, the secretion of ghrelin increa...