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#HealthyAging, #Obesity, EHI, Engelman Health Institute, Get Healthy, Science, Weight Management
Obesity and Hormone
Because 60% of Americans are overweight or obese, the study of obesity and its effects are the focus of much scientific research and investment. Humans have evolved to avoid two main events: One is starvation and the other is obesity. The winner in that contest is prevention of starvation.
As I have discussed with many of my patients, humans evolved in a time of scarce or unpredictable food resources but had large energy needs. Modern society involves just the opposite. Now we have an abundance of food (calories) and not much energy utilization (lack of exercise). Like all of our other systems, we have many pathways to make sure we don’t starve to death. Science recently has discovered numerous hormones and other signaling substances to prevent starvation, while attempting to prevent obesity. When we were hunter gatherers, we had to make certain we ate enough and stored away extra available calories for the time when there might be limited or no food (calories) available. Therefore, when food was scarce, we increased our hunger stimulus and decreased our energy burning to conserve the fat we had stored away, by utilizing chemical signalers. This hasn’t changed in the last 100,000 years. Many of these signalers are manufactured by intestine and pancreatic cells.
The hormone I will focus on today is a substance called Leptin. Leptin is primarily manufactured by fat cells. A very important physiologic principle is the body’s need to keep its systems operation within narrow ranges. This is referred to as homeostasis. In practical terms what this means is when things get out of whack, the body tries its hardest to re-balance. Three well known examples of this are:
- Insulin Resistance, causing Type 2 Diabetes.
- Elevated Cortisol levels, from various stressors, causing Adrenal fatigue.
- Leptin Resistance
We will address the third, recently discovered, condition referred to as “Leptin Resistance”. Leptin is manufactured in fat cells, so it makes sense that the more fat cells, the more Leptin. This is true for the vast majority of people. Primarily Leptin signals us to eat less and for our body to burn more calories (weight loss). As with insulin, the problem arises when there is an overabundance of Leptin. The normal signal loses its impact, so even though we are obese we continue to eat because we don’t register the “I feel full” message sent by Leptin. This Leptin Resistance results in us slowing down energy burning instead of increasing it. This also results in weight gain.
I have included below, a diagram of many of the other negative health consequences of “Leptin Resistance”. This dangerous and difficult condition can be treated with a comprehensive medically supervised program. Leptin and many other hormonal signaling substances are currently being studied as targets for obesity control.
As you can see from our previous blogs, obesity is a complex condition. Quick fixes do not work and many can actually be dangerous. Optimal Weight Management for the long run, as part of an optimal health program is the way to go.
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