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When Is Leptin Secreted?

Marcus Vance • • 6 min read
When Is Leptin Secreted?

The biology of Leptin
Leptin is secreted mainly by white adipose tissue, and levels are positively correlated with the amount of body fat (3). Like many other hormones, leptin is secreted in a pulsatile fashion and has a significant diurnal variation with higher levels in the evening and early morning hours (4, 5).

Under what conditions is leptin released?

When the body is functioning properly, excess fat cells will produce leptin, which will trigger the hypothalamus to lower the appetite, allowing the body to dip into the fat stores to feed itself. Unfortunately, when someone is obese, that individual will have too much leptin in the blood.

What causes leptin to release?

Because leptin is produced by fat cells, the amount of leptin released is directly related to the amount of body fat; so the more fat an individual has, the more leptin they will have circulating in their blood.

Marcus Vance
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Marcus Vance

Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.