Research
Hormonal
Leptin resistance in obesity involves impaired transport across the blood-brain barrier and defective hypothalamic signaling (e.g., STAT3, PI3K), leading to reduced satiety and energy expenditure.
In obesity, your body produces plenty of leptin, but your brain doesn't hear it. This 'leptin resistance' means you feel hungry and store fat more easily. Improving brain sensitivity to leptin (through weight loss, exercise, and sleep) is more effective than trying to add more leptin.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
However, the increase in leptin concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of obese individuals is less than that of plasma leptin concentrations. Therefore, reduced leptin transport to the brain may be due to reduced action of leptin in obesity.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple studies on leptin transport and signaling in obese models.
Source
Emerging role of the brain in the homeostatic regulation of energy and glucose metabolism
Eun Roh et al. · Experimental & Molecular Medicine · 2016
DOI 10.1038/emm.2016.4
narrative_reviewCited 385×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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