Curse of the Fat Gene

German-born philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote in his book On Revolution:

“Economic growth may one day turn out to be a curse rather than a good, and under not conditions can it either lead into freedom or constitute a proof of its existence.”

If she were correct — that economy and body processes can have something in common — how far off it may sound. Both, at certain levels, can either be blessings or curses.

Leptin (“thin” in Greek) is a major hormone created by fat cells. It is a biochemical messenger that informs the hypothalamus, the appetite center of the brain, on the degree of hunger inside the body.

As fat deposits increase, more leptin are produced, inducing the hypothalamus to stop hunger and increase energy burning.

However, when health problems occur due to biological factors, genetics and lifestyle, fat deposits increase more than the natural mechanism can take. The hunger suppression mechanism got overridden, more fat got stored and leptin levels increase.

Adipose tissue leptin and circulating leptin levels increase in obesity. The problem is this: Several clinical studies, from 1997 through 2006, showed that leptin induces the formation of toxic oxygen radicals, a cause for cell damage leading to the appearance of invasive cancer.

Leptin can also promote the growth of blood vessels (angiogenesis), which helps spread cancer cells throughout the body.

A recent trial found that leptin can propagate androgen-dependent cancer cells as it inhibits androgen-resistant cancer cells.

Both are in a dose-dependent way. The study involved 10 scientists, and funded by the Louisiana State University Health Science Center (New Orleans, Los Angeles), University of South Alabama Medical Center (Mobile, Alabama), Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center (New Orleans), and The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (Baltimore, Maryland). Invincible
In the 2008 issue of the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, lead researcher Dayanand Deo noted that a concentration of at least 100 nanogram (ng) leptin can stop the spread of androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells throughout the body.

Cancer cells from the uterus got stomped at a concentration of 200 ng leptin. Androgen-sensitive invasive cancer cells spread more at a concentration of 50 ng.

Dependent on fat deposits, leptin levels can only be controlled, given genetic and biological factors, through a disciplined dietary program and lifestyle modification. If your weight is considered as “obese,” you need a strong commitment to eat much less, and burn much more energy. Even a moderate intake can be too much.

An old Benjamin Franklin wisdom need not be forgotten here: “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation” (The Autobiography).