POMC and adrenal gland hyperfunction: Obesity, particularly that characterized by massive visceral adiposity, is reportedly associated with hypercortisolism, including increased 24 h urinary free cortisol excretion, cortisol secretion rate, plasma cortisol response to ACTH (or corticotropin-releasing hormone [CRH]) and salivary cortisol peak after mental stress [57,58,59,60].