Study finds hormone linked to weight regulation

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- There’s new research that holds promise for finding new drugs in the battle of the bulge.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who lack the hormone leptin are more likely to be obese. Leptin is part of a network that controls your appetite and the expenditure of energy in the body.

How leptin works has been a mystery, until now.

The study’s authors determined that the hormone interacts with a specific receptor in the brain. While there may be several reasons why some people don’t have the hormone, in some cases the problem could be that the leptin receptor in the brain is not doing its job.

Understanding how leptin works could lead to the development of new drugs to treat obesity.