We now know, that leptin resistance shares a lot in common with insulin resistance. The chronic inflammation characteristic of leptin and insulin resistance found in Obesity is indicative of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. "Like insulin resistance, leptin resistance is a chronic inflammatory condition that contributes directly to progressive weight gain, stubborn weight loss, and subsequent weight regain." Chris Lydon, MD

If you're like most [North] Americans, you are struggling with at least a few extra pounds And if you're over 40, those extra pounds are probably accumulating with an unwelcome preference for your mid-section.

Spare-tire fat distributionis more than an unsightly annoyance. Fat that accumulates in your belly is extremely dangerous. That's because it promotes the release of proinflammatory 'cytokines' that seem to be involved in just about every age-related degenerative disease.

Abdominal obesity is a hallmark characteristic of metabolic syndrome, also known as "syndrome X" or "pre-diabetes". Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of insiduous pathological processes that place you at significantly increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and dementia.

Until very recently, there appeared little most people could do to significanltly reduce excess abdominal fat. Fortunatelu, cutting-edge research has identified a potential reversible mechanism of both stubborn middle-aged weight gain and associated markers of metabolic syndrome such as high blood levels of glucose, LDL, and C-reactive protein.

What is Leptin?

Leptin is a hormone, produced by adipocytes (fat cells), that functions to maintain a lean body composition by at least two distinct mechanisms.

First it modulates appetite by binding to a specific area of the brain, known as the hypothalamus, where it signals satiety. Normally, a well-nourishedstate is reflected by an increase in leptin production and, in turn, the elevated serum leptin signals the hypothalamus to limit hunger.

And second, leptin enhances the body's ability to access and utilize fat storesas an energy source.

Leptin caught the attention of the medical comminity in the mid-90's when its adminsitration to genetically obese mice caused the animals to rapidly shed 30% of their body weight in two weeks, with daily leptin injection. In 1995, scientist believed they had finally uncomvered the body grail of weight ontrol. Human studies were quickly underway, but where obese individuals received leptin injections, the expected results never appreared: appetites were not suppressed, ad weight was not lost.

Although investigators were disappointed when supplemental leptin failed to induce weight loss i humans, they were not entirely surprised. Previous research had revealed that overweight individuals alrady had far more serum leptin than their normal-wieght counterparts. In fact, studies have conclusively demonstrated that both the total amount of body fat - as well as the size of the individual fat cells - that an individual possesses, correlate directly to the amount of leptin he or she produces. In short, the fatter you are, the more leptin you will have floating in your bloodstream.

Which begs the obvious question: how can a compound that normally functions to maintain leannes be consistently most elevated in individuals who are most obese?

Researchers believed that the apparent paradox could be explained by an acquired resistance to leptin.  Since being overweight leads to chronically elevated levels of the hormone, they hypothesized that prolonged exposure to this leptin overload could eventually cause target tissues to become 'immune' to the effects of leptin, losing the normal capacity to respond to it. More than a decade later, investigators are still hard at work elucidating what has turned out to be an exceedingly complicated interplay between genes and hormones. Neverthless, many aspects of leptin resistance have already been successfully deciphered and described in the scientific literature.

For example, we now know, that leptin resistance shares a lot in common with insulin resistance. [The chronic inflammation characteristic of leptin and insulin resistance found in Obesity is indicative of an overactive sympathetic nervous system].

Suggested Reading:

For the complete article on what you can do, nutritionally, about leptin resistance, pick up a copy of LifeExtention magazine at your health retailer or go to www.lef.org 

For more informatiom what you can do about exercise whidh typically stimulates the sympathetic system, which is already overactive in Obesity go to  pH Physiology.