Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), induced by 100 g glucose given orally, were measured in two groups of obese women, characterized by the abdominal or gluteal-femoral type of obesity. No difference in RMR was found between the two groups. Obese women with an abdominal fat mass distribution have a higher and more prolonged DIT in comparison with gluteal-femoral obese women. This finding may help explain why women with upper body obesity are more able to lose weight than women with lower body obesity.