Leptin carries an energy-store signal
Biomarker library
Metabolic Syndrome
Leptin
Leptin is the ‘I'm full’ hormone. Fat cells make it in proportion to how much fat you carry, telling your brain that energy stores are sufficient.
Measured in your health assessment, with a doctor to explain your result. Book yours
Why it matters
In theory more fat means more leptin and less appetite. In practice, with excess weight the brain becomes less responsive to leptin, so levels are high but the full signal is weak, which is part of why lost weight tends to return.
What a result can mean
Lower than the range
A low leptin is seen with low body fat, for example in athletes or after major weight loss, and it increases hunger and slows metabolism. Rare inherited deficiencies cause extreme appetite from childhood.
Higher than the range
A high leptin mostly reflects more body fat and leptin resistance, and is linked with insulin resistance and inflammation. Women naturally have higher levels than men.
What can help
Gradual weight loss, regular exercise and enough sleep help keep the system in balance; short sleep lowers leptin and raises hunger the next day.
Read it with
NoteGeneral educational illustration. Colours, sizes and movement are simplified. This is not a scan or a simulation of your body. General information, not personal medical advice: a doctor reads your own results with your history.
Know your leptin.
Measured in your health assessment and explained by the doctor who reviews your results.