Research
Hormonal
Selective leptin resistance in obesity preserves the sympathoexcitatory effects of leptin (increasing blood pressure) while blunting its appetite-suppressing effects.
In obesity, the body may become resistant to leptin's ability to tell you to stop eating, but it remains sensitive to leptin's ability to raise blood pressure. This explains why obese individuals often have high blood pressure even if they don't feel hungry.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Mark et al. suggested that some forms of obesity may be characterized by a 'selective leptin resistance,' limited to its favorable metabolic effects (satiety and weight loss), while its sympathoexcitatory effects on the cardiovascular system are maintained.
Why this rating
Cited experimental and human studies.
Source
The Role of the Autonomic Nervous System in the Pathophysiology of Obesity
Daniela Guarino et al. · Frontiers in Physiology · 2017
DOI 10.3389/fphys.2017.00665
narrative_reviewCited 246×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Weight loss reverses the metabolic and autonomic alterations associated with obesity, including sympathetic overactivity.Good
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