To the question “What to do to lose weight”, we are used to answering: eat less, move more. But why does this scheme work for some and not for others? This may be due to the hormone leptin.
The problem of endemic obesity has been a concern for specialists since the late 80s of the last century, and every decade the situation is only getting worse. Research in recent years shows that the “fat-phobia” that has taken over the world after the famous “Study of Seven Countries” by Ancel Keys, published in 1970, is largely to blame.
Keys argued that a high-fat diet increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, since countries that traditionally eat fatty foods high in animal products are much more likely to die from heart attacks and strokes.
In countries where carbohydrate and plant foods are preferred, fewer people experience these health problems.
Fat, great and terrible
This opus launched a worldwide “anti-fat” campaign that led to an almost panicky fear of any lipid in food. Surprisingly, instead of getting better, people began to get sick even more often, gain weight even more intensively, and the lower age bar for obese patients began to drop rapidly: by the beginning of the 90s, they began to diagnose it even in infants.
Having sounded the alarm, experts began to critically review the sources of dietary postulates – it soon became clear that not only were a lot of mistakes made in Keys’s research, he also simply dismissed those countries that did not fit into his “anti-fat thesis”.
So gradually fats received dietary indulgence (and sugars and simple carbohydrates – on the contrary), but the problem of obesity still needed to be addressed: maintaining an active lifestyle and a balanced diet did not help everyone.
In 1994, the hormone leptin was isolated for the first time, which turned the scientific community’s understanding of fat mass in the human body. For a long time it was believed that it is inert – it lies under the skin and around the internal organs and waits when it is needed if the body suddenly begins to starve.
It turned out that this is not at all the case – fatty tissue has hormonal activity and not only affects the functioning of the endocrine system, but also produces hormones itself – the same leptin, for example.
What is leptin
Leptin belongs to the so-called cytokines, signaling proteins, whose task is to regulate appetite and control the amount of stored fat in the body. It has an anorexigenic effect, that is, it suppresses appetite so that a person does not overeat – this is the most important signal for maintaining optimal weight and overall health. But a lack of leptin can lead to obesity.
It would seem that keep leptin within normal limits, and there are no problems. But everything turned out to be not so simple. Over time, it turned out that many people who are gaining weight and suffering from various degrees of obesity, on the contrary, have too much of this hormone in their blood.
Thus, a condition called “leptin resistance” was discovered – resistance to leptin. With it, the brain simply stops reading the signal that there are enough fat reserves, and continues to stock up frantically, perceiving leptin activity as hunger.
The larger the fat cells become, the more leptin they produce and the lower its chance of being heard by the brain. He will demand more and more food. We gain weight not because we eat a lot, but on the contrary – we eat more and more, because disorders leading to obesity have begun.
Losing weight is real
Losing weight with an imbalance of leptin in the body is an almost impossible task, the body will throw all its strength into not letting it waste a single gram of fat from its reserves, because it seems to it that it is starving. At the same time, weight gain, alas, is far from the only problem that arises from disturbances in the functioning of this hormone.
Leptin resistance contributes to inflammation, stimulates the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones, and adversely affects most bodily functions, including fertility.
In addition, in most cases, it becomes the starting point for the development of metabolic syndrome, a condition in which the body stops hearing insulin. Which, in turn, often leads to type II diabetes.
There are many reasons for the development of leptin resistance, and, as a rule, it develops due to a combination of factors. The main ones are called by the experts as follows:
- high blood sugar and a diet rich in simple carbohydrates;
- food rich in trans fats, easily oxidized fats, synthetic additives;
- chronic stress and high levels of the hormone cortisol;
- chronic inflammatory processes in the body;
- low estrogen levels.
Unfortunately, they have not yet learned how to treat leptin resistance with medication, but this does not mean that it will not work to improve the situation. The main thing to do, in addition to reducing the amount of sugar, simple carbohydrates and bad fats in the diet, is to establish a regimen. This applies to both food and sleep.
The fact is that leptin is a circadian hormone, that is, dependent on the change of day and night and the cyclical nature of a number of processes in the body. In order to return his work to normal, it is very important to go to bed on time – before 23:00 the best option is to get enough sleep, try to get up at the same time.
It is also important to eat on a schedule, trying to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time. Skipping main meals is a bad idea, and snacking is not encouraged by experts. Instead, increase the amount of quality protein in the diet, as well as ensure that it contains quality fats, greens, leafy and, if possible, vegetables.
Physical activity also plays a role, but rushing to train frantically is just not worth it – this is additional stress for the body, which also brings confusion to the work of the endocrine system. Walking more, not being too lazy to once again get up from the sofa or up the stairs instead of the elevator, find a pleasant gymnastics and give it at least half an hour a day – this is the right strategy.
Finally, it is worth trying to find the sources of chronic stress and anxiety in life – this will help not only speed up the “repair” in the work of leptin, but in general will have a very positive impact on the state of health, not only physical, but also mental.