9 Hormones That Affect Your Weight — and How to Improve Them

Leptin is a fullness hormone that works by telling your hypothalamus — the portion of your brain that regulates appetite — that you’re full (18Trusted Source).

However, people with obesity may experience leptin resistance. This means the message to stop eating doesn’t reach your brain, eventually causing you to overeat (18Trusted Source).

In turn, your body may produce even more leptin until your levels become elevated (18Trusted Source).

The direct cause of leptin resistance is unclear, but it may be due to inflammation, gene mutations, and/or excessive leptin production, which can occur with obesity (19Trusted Source).

Tips to improve leptin levels

Although no known treatment exists for leptin resistance, a few lifestyle changes may help lower leptin levels (18Trusted Source):

• Maintain a healthy weight. Because leptin resistance is associated with obesity, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight. Additionally, research suggests that a decrease in body fat may help reduce leptin levels (18Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
• Improve your sleep quality. Leptin levels may be related to sleep quality in people with obesity. Although this association may not exist in people without obesity, there are numerous other reasons to get better sleep (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).
• Exercise regularly. Research links regular, consistent exercise to a decrease in leptin levels (20Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

In people with obesity, resistance to the hormone leptin, which helps you feel full, may lead to overeating. Research suggests that exercising regularly, sleeping well, and maintaining a healthy body weight help lower leptin levels.