COURT, JM, ME DUNLOP, AND RF LEONARD. Highfrequency oscillations of blood free fatty acid levels in man. J. Appl. Physiol. 3 l (3): 345-347. 1971.-Free fatty acid (FFA) levels were measured at 15-set intervals in 14 children, including 11 with obesity. The FFA level was found to fluctuate over a wide range (165-680 pEq/liter) about the mean. The period of oscillation was of the order of 2 min. Changes in glycerol level approximately paralleled those of FFA. It is suggested that this oscillation in FFA values represents a change in FFA release from adipose stores. Some differences between obese and nonobese children were noted. childhood obesity; glycerol

FREE FATTY ACIDS are the major energy source in the fasting state and their concentration in blood is markedly in-fluenced by length of fast and such stimuli as exercise, emotional stress, insulin, and glucose (2, 6, 7, 9). While obtaining base-line free fatty acid (FFA) values in fasting obese children we had found that marked fluctuations occurred over short periods of time. This led us to investigate the possibility of high-frequency oscillation of FFA in a group of children. Rapid change in blood glucose levels has been reported (12), but the significance of highfrequency oscillations in biological systems is still unknown.