Leptin:The antiobesity hormone

Leptin: The antiobesity hormone.

The effects of the fat hormone leptin are numerous and start early in life with breast feeding. Were you breastfeed? Ask your mother for how long. It makes a difference. Research in 2009 has shown that leptin impacts many cultures and many disease states besides obesity including breast and prostate cancer, coronary arteries disease, asthma, and diabetes.

Leptin is a genetically based hormone made by fat cells which influences monumental controlling aspects of human physiology. Just a few things researchers are learning about leptin are that it controls desire for food intake, energy utilization, insulin sensitivity, muscle metabolism at the cellular level as well as brain neurotransmitters like dopamine.

In central obesity high levels of leptin play a key role influencing insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. What can you do now? Get on track with the basics of proper diet and exercise to decrease weight. To regulate leptin follow  these five simple rules………

• Never eat after dinner
• Eat three meals a day
• Do not eat large meals
• Eat a high protein breakfast
• Reduce the amount of carbohydrates eaten

J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Jun;109(6):1058-63. // Links

Comment in:

J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Jun;109(6):988-91.

A high-sugar/low-fiber meal compared with a low-sugar/high-fiber meal leads to higher leptin and physical activity levels in overweight Latina females.

Spruijt-Metz D, Belcher B, Anderson D, Lane CJ, Chou CP, Salter-Venzon D, Davis JN, Hsu YW, Neuhouser ML, Richey JM, McKenzie TL, McClain A, Goran MI, Weigensberg MJ.

University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, USC/IPR, 1000 S Fremont, Unit # 8, Room 4101, Alhambra, CA 91803, USA. dmetz@usc.edu

Acute effects of high-sugar/low-fiber meals vs low-sugar/high-fiber meals on hormones and behavior were studied in 10 overweight Latina females, age 11 to 12 years, using a crossover design. In this exploratory pilot study, participants arrived fasted at an observation laboratory on two occasions and randomly received either a high-sugar/low-fiber meal or a low-sugar/high-fiber meal at each visit. Glucose, insulin, and leptin were assayed from serum drawn at 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Ad libitum snacks were provided at 120 minutes. Physical activity was measured using an observational system that provides data on time spent lying down, sitting, standing, walking, and in vigorous activity. Data were collected between March 2005 and July 2006. In the high-sugar/low-fiber condition, glucose and leptin levels decreased more slowly, glucose levels were higher at 60 minutes (111.2 mg/dL vs 95.4 mg/dL, P=0.03), and leptin levels were higher at 90 minutes (49.3 ng/mL vs 46.7 ng/mL, P=0.017) than in the low-sugar/high-fiber condition. Meals did not affect insulin or ad libitum dietary intake. Sitting, standing, lying down, and vigorous activity differed by condition, but not walking. Participants were significantly more active in the first 30 to 60 minutes after the high-sugar/low-fiber meal, but after 60 minutes there was a trend for activity to be lower after the high-sugar/low-fiber meal vs the low-sugar/high-fiber meal. High-sugar meals sustain glucose and leptin levels longer, which may play an important role in modulating levels of physical activity in this group at high risk for obesity-related diseases.

James Geiger MD

the oilMD

www.oilmd.com