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The study findings suggest that falling leptin levels send a hunger signal to the brain's pleasure center to generate the rewarding effects of running. Leptin is a fat cell-derived hormone that signals the brain when the body has enough fuel and energy. The study appeared in Cell Metabolism.
During lab experiments, mice with reduced leptin signalling in the brain logged nearly twice as many miles on a running wheel compared with normal mice. Low leptin levels have been previously been associated with exercise addiction, fast marathon times and training status in humans and also correlate with greater running speed and duration in mice.
These new findings could also have clinical implications for anorexia. Previous research has shown that leptin signalling in the brain's reward center inhibits wheel running in a rat model of anorexia-induced hyperactivity.
Moreover, people with anorexia have low fat-adjusted leptin levels that are associated with increased restlessness and hyperactivity.
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