Leptin facts for kids

Structure of the obese protein leptin-E100.

Leptin is a special hormone made by your body's fat cells. Its main job is to tell your brain when you've had enough to eat, helping to reduce feelings of hunger. This helps keep your body's energy levels balanced.

Leptin works opposite to another hormone called ghrelin, which is often called the "hunger hormone." Both of these hormones send messages to a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. They work together to control your appetite and keep your body's energy in balance.

What is Leptin?

Leptin is like a messenger that travels from your fat cells to your brain. When you have enough fat stored, your fat cells release more leptin. This leptin then signals to your brain that you have enough energy, which helps you feel full and stops you from wanting to eat more.

Leptin and Your Weight

Sometimes, in people who have obesity, the body might not respond well to leptin. This is called "leptin resistance." Even if there's a lot of leptin in the body (meaning plenty of energy stored), the brain doesn't get the message clearly. This can lead to a constant feeling of hunger, even when the body has lots of energy reserves.

Leptin's main role is to manage fat stores. However, scientists are still studying other important jobs leptin might have in the body.

How Leptin Was Discovered

Leptin was discovered not too long ago, in 1994. A scientist named Jeffrey M. Friedman and his team at Rockefeller University found it. This discovery was a big step in understanding obesity, which has become a common health issue in many parts of the world.

Scientists learned about leptin's importance through experiments with mice in a lab. They found that mice with more leptin in their bodies tended to be thinner and didn't eat as much. This showed how important leptin is for controlling weight.

Keeping Leptin Levels Healthy

You can help keep your leptin levels healthy! Reducing stress and getting good, restful sleep can help increase your body's leptin levels. This can support your body's natural way of managing hunger and energy.

Images for kids

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  A comparison of a mouse unable to produce leptin, resulting in obesity, constant hunger, and lethargy (left), and an active normal weight mouse (right)

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  Leptin and Ghrelin on the metabolism control