Obesity is a common, and increasing, condition in modern society.
Leptin and insulin are circulating hormones, secreted from fat and pancreatic -cells respectively, which act in the central nervous system to regulate food intake and body weight. Mutations in leptin and its receptor result in profound obesity and symptoms of type 2 diabetes in rodents and humans. However, it is unclear exactly what defect, in the vast majority of cases, results in human obesity. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the mechanisms by which these hormones signal within cells. There is strong evidence that leptin and insulin induce their anorectic actions through modification of hypothalamic neuronal activity.