Weight Loss Could Be Aided by Leptin Gene Therapy

It seems there is constantly a new method invented to lose weight, but none of them are truly beneficial to help you trim down. You may feel the weight loss industry is continuously finding new strategies to promote to fatten their bottom-line and you may not always be wrong. Leptin gene therapy, however, should not be discounted as another weight loss industry sponsored gimmick to cash in on the obsession with a thin body. This therapy has been scientifically studied at the Oregon State University and the University of Florida to show positive developments for weight loss.

Dangers of Yo-yo Diets
Fad diets may help you lose weight rapidly, but your weight gain after the loss might be even quicker. This generally leaves you in a worse off condition, not only due to your weight being higher than it was originally, but also because you deplete your body of essential nutrients while you are on the fad diet. This yo-yo effect negatively impacts your bone health, increasing the risk for osteoporosis (weak bones which fracture easily). Researchers wanted to find a solution to obesity, while avoiding bone loss symptoms and they may have hit the jackpot with leptin gene therapy.

Leptin
Leptin is a hormone known to influence our eating habits. Leptin cells inform our brain about the amount of fat in our body and if the body needs to store additional fat. It also regulates the breakdown of fat cells. Producing a certain threshold of leptins allows your brain to know when you don’t need to eat anymore and when it’s ok to burn fat cells at a normal rate instead of a slow rate to conserve energy.

Adults may develop resistance to leptin. In other words, the brain stops listening to the communication from leptin cells. This prevents it from realizing you have sufficient fat stored in the body and thus your mind will continue to tell your body that you are hungry even though you may have finished eating a full meal.

Benefits of Leptin
Researchers conducted tests that showed lab rats injected with leptin directly into their hypothalamus demonstrated 20% weight loss without any negative impact to bone density. The findings of the study stated the subjects were able to maintain their weight and cut considerable amounts of visceral fat. Other researchers believe leptin aids weight loss by improving your metabolism rate, which drops off significantly if your brain cannot read the incoming messages from leptin cells.

Additional research is definitely needed to find conclusive evidence of the benefits of leptin gene therapy. However, studies are already promising this may be one weight loss solution that's not an industry invented gimmick.