Research
Hormonal
Obese individuals typically exhibit high circulating leptin levels (hyperleptinaemia) due to increased fat mass, yet fail to lose weight, indicating a state of leptin resistance rather than deficiency.
If you are obese, your leptin levels are likely high, not low. Your body is resistant to the signal. Simply having more leptin (or taking supplements) will not work because the signal is already present but ignored. Focus on strategies that may improve sensitivity rather than assuming a deficiency.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
the proportion of free leptin is increased in serum of obese subjects... apparent leptin resistance in the setting of increased free leptin.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple human studies cited regarding serum levels in lean vs obese subjects.
Source
Leptin: physiology and pathophysiology
Gema Frühbeck et al. · Clinical Physiology · 1998
DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2281.1998.00129.x
narrative_reviewCited 254×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Leptin regulates body weight and energy expenditure by acting as a negative feedback signal from adipose tissue to the brain, inhibiting food intake and stimulating energy expenditure via hypothalamic pathways involving NPY, CRH, and the melanocortin system.Good
- Exercise alone, independent of fat mass loss, has little to no effect on serum leptin levels in humans, as leptin primarily reflects adipose tissue mass rather than acute energy expenditure.Moderate
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This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →