Although circulating ghrelin levels correlate inversely with adiposity at baseline, little is known about the effect of percent visceral adipose tissue value (PVATV) on ghrelin expression and secretion in response to fasting. Our study demonstrated that ghrelin increased with 24-h fasting in rats with the lowest PVATV (less than 6%), after 3 days in rats with intermediate PVATV (6-9%) and 5 days in rats with the highest PVATV (greater than 9%). Ghrelin mRNA in the stomach was increased after 3 days in low-PVATV (5.8+/-0.9%) rats but not in high-PVATV (14+/-1.6%) rats. Therefore, both ghrelin secretion and mRNA were delayed in response to fasting in rats with increased visceral fat. In rats matched for PVATV, but with different body weights, the fasting induced similar levels of increased ghrelin while in rats with different PVATV ghrelin secretion was different in response to fasting, even when body weights were matched in two groups. These data suggested that the initial PVATV, not lean mass, was related to the pattern of plasma ghrelin in response to fasting in rats.