Leptin Injections Maintain Loss In Body Weight

In Washington it was reported that hormone injections (Leptin) taken twice daily by dieters help to maintain the weight loss rather than losing weight.

The research was headed by Dr Michael Rosenbaum of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York which shed light on the complex pathway that regulates metabolism and deposit fat. It is very difficult to lose weight what is more difficult is to maintain the weight.

A study was conducted in 1990 and the findings were reported that fat cells produced Leptin hormone which when injected into rats helped them to lose weight but it did not produce the same result in humans. Various other experiments were done with different hormones related to hunger metabolism and weight (neuropeptide Y and ghrelin) but the results were not favorable to humans.

A group of ten volunteers (obese and non-obese) were taken for study and for eight weeks were given liquid diet of very low calorie (800 calories/ day) and then received Leptin injections for the following five weeks. The results were reported in the journal of Clinical Investigation that if their Leptin levels were restored to pre-weight loss point then it was possible to maintain their weight. Their subjects all lost 10% weight and hence it is necessary to understand the Leptin hormone pathway.

When Leptin injections are given to people who have normal body weight there is no reaction at all but this is not the case when the same is done to a dieter whose weight is maintained after losing some pounds. It changes the working of the systems that were initially working against your body and now all those systems are rewarded due to weight lose. But this is not a permanent solution as it is easy to put on weight rather much difficult to reduce.

Statistics show that 85% get back their lost weight without any much effort. On the other hand those who maintain their weight for long terms after weight reduction are known to have excellent metabolism.

Weight reduction drugs all reduce weight unnaturally either by increasing metabolism rates for short periods or suppress hunger but these practices are harmful. The best way to reduce obesity is to naturally alter the metabolism rate and the leptin-signalling pathway comes to our rescue. Apart from this healthy diet and exercise should also be part of the weight loss therapy.

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It was concluded by the research team that the key role of Leptin hormone is not to reduce but to retain the lost weight.