Research
Hormonal
Leptin resistance, caused by defects in blood-brain barrier transport or intracellular signaling (e.g., SOCS3), is the primary driver of common obesity, whereas absolute leptin deficiency is rare.
In common obesity, your body produces plenty of leptin (the satiety hormone), but your brain stops listening to it. This 'leptin resistance' is a key biological barrier to weight loss.
StrongQualifiesVERY_HIGH confidence
However, absolute leptin deficiency is an uncommon cause of human obesity. Instead, leptin resistance results from defects in transport across the blood-brain barrier or impaired intracellular signaling. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) is an intracellular protein that acts to limit leptin signaling and is an important mediator of leptin resistance.
Why this rating
The paper presents this as a well-established consensus in the field of endocrinology.
Source
The Gut and Energy Balance: Visceral Allies in the Obesity Wars
Michael K. Badman et al. · Science · 2005
DOI 10.1126/science.1109951
narrative_reviewCited 528×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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