What Is Leptin and What Does It Do (The Hunger Hormone)

What Is Leptin

Its medical name has Greek origins. In Greek, "leptos" means thin.

Also known as the hunger hormone, leptin is a peptide (amino acid–based) hormone that regulates appetite and fat storage in the body by producing a feeling of fullness (satiety).

Leptin is secreted by adipose (fat) tissue — the largest gland in the human body's endocrine system.