The present study was designed to examine the hypothesis that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity as measured by 24-h cortisol production rate (CPR) and plasma levels of free cortisol is linked to increased body fat in adults, and that increased cortisol levels with aging results from increased CPR. Fifty-four healthy men and women volunteers with a wide range of body mass indexes and ages underwent measurement of CPR by isotope dilution measured by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, cortisol-binding globulin, and free cortisol in pooled 24-h plasma, body composition, and leptin. Cortisol clearance rates were determined from the 10-h disappearance curves of hydrocortisone after steady-state infusion in a separate group of lean and obese subjects with adrenal insufficiency. Although CPR significantly increased with increasing body mass index and percentage body fat, free cortisol levels remained independent of body composition and leptin levels due to increased cortisol clearance rates. CPR and free cortisol levels were, however, significantly higher in men than women. In addition, 24-h plasma free cortisol levels were increased with age in association with increased CPR, independent of body size. This increase in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity may play a role in the alterations in body composition and central fat distribution in men vs. women and with aging.