ABSTRACT
In 1994, researchers discovered that mice that had been genetically modified to be obese grew miraculously svelte when injected with a hormone called leptin, and the fever surrounding the promising molecule grew considerably. The way it worked was simple. Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue that makes us feel full. It tells the brain that the organism has built up enough reserves and doesn’t need to take in more. This led to the bright idea that obese individuals might be suffering from an insufficient output of leptin. Their brains continued to want to stock up, despite the abundance of fat already present in the body. It would suffice to inject them with the leptin they lacked, for their runaway appetites to be reined in.
