Research
Hormonal
Hypothalamic inflammation, characterized by microglial activation and increased SOCS3 expression, leads to leptin and insulin resistance in the central nervous system, promoting orexigenic signaling and weight gain.
High-fat, high-calorie diets can cause inflammation in the brain's appetite control center, blunting the 'fullness' signal. Reducing dietary quality and caloric intake can reduce this central inflammation and restore sensitivity to satiety hormones.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Prolonged exposure to HFD in rodents also leads to hypothalamic inflammation, resulting in hypothalamic leptin resistance and subsequent development of obesity due to reduced leptin effectiveness... SOCS3 serves as a negative feedback regulator... contributing to the development of both leptin resistance and insulin resistance within the brain.
Why this rating
Supported by extensive animal models and correlational human data cited in the review.
Source
Relevance and consequence of chronic inflammation for obesity development
Lisa Rück et al. · Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics · 2023
DOI 10.1186/s40348-023-00170-6
narrative_reviewCited 25×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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