Leptin is a hormone which is produced by the adipocytes, also known as the fat cells. This hormone is very important when it comes to regulating food intake and energy storage. Leptin is connected with obesity, and in this article I’ll also explain how it relates to thyroid health.
But let’s first learn a little more about leptin. As I just mentioned, leptin helps with regulating food intake and energy storage. It actually helps to suppress appetite, and this helps one to maintain a healthy weight. However, while leptin is important, it is also important that the leptin receptors are working properly. When someone has healthy levels of leptin and the receptors are functioning properly, this results in a decrease in appetite. On the other hand, if someone has a leptin deficiency, this will lead to a voracious appetite. For example, when someone eats a very low calorie diet, the body will increase the secretion of leptin in order to increase their appetite so that they will eat more.
Weight gain results in an increased plasma leptin level, while weight loss results in decreased plasma levels of leptin. So in people who are obese the circulating level of leptin www.hormone-pro.com/Peptide-Hormones/Leptin/ is increased, and it has been established that obese patients are leptin-resistant. Leptin resistance is the failure of elevated leptin levels to suppress feeding and mediate weight loss. Leptin receptors are found in the brainstem, hypothalamus, and distributed reward centers of the CNS. A number of mechanisms weaken leptin signaling and lead to leptin resistance in obesity.