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Browse Wellness Word Definitions  Wellness Words Detail Page     Word:    Leptin Short Definition:   An appetite-suppressing hormone produced by fat cells. Definition: Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone produced by fat cells. Its purpose is to regulate the proper storage of fat by regulating appetite. When a person loses fat, leptin levels drop and appetite is enhanced. When a person gains fat, leptin levels rise and appetite is suppressed. Leptin was first discovered around 1994. The hope was that a key was found to controlling obesity by rising the levels of leptin. However, it was discovered that obese people have sufficient levels of leptin but their receptors in the hypothalamus have become resistant to the hormone. It is believed that high levels of triglycerides, elevated in obesity, disrupt the transport of the leptin across the blood–brain barrier to its site of action in the hypothalamus, thus short circuiting the control mechanism which moderates hunger.

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