Obesity is a hot topic, no matter how you look at it. The issue is a rampant at one with often highly divided opinions on why it occurs and how it can be treated. A recent study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that at least in some cases, obesity can be blamed on a malfunctioning in the body with the hormone leptin.

Leptin is the hormone that is responsible for regulating the levels of hunger. In a healthy functioning body, leptin is released to signal to the brain that the stomach is full.

The subject if the study however, was a 2-year old Turkish child who was strangely chronically obese. What they found in his case, was not that his was neglecting to release leptin to signal fullness after eating, but that the leptin his body was releasing was a mutated form.

When the mutated form of leptin was released it did not relay its intended message to the central nervous system that he was full. Though it was being released on schedule, the leptin was not activating the proper receptors necessary to signal satiety. Due to his age, the child was unable to mentally control any of his hunger urges.

It is most likely that this sort of leptin mutation is incredibly rare and not assumed to be the explanation for most obesity cases, but there a couple other documented cases. For more cases to be revealed, some of the leptin tests would have to be altered.

The problem is that the people with the leptin mutation test for having normal leptin levels in the blood so a more extensive test would have to be used to discover whether their leptin was of the healthy or defective variety. Where there is not a deficiency in the hormone, it is assumed that the leptin is not the problem, but this is not always the case as demonstrated by the subject of this study.

This study does bring up some potential insight into obesity might be treated in the future, with more of an emphasis on controlling the regulating hormones in the body. Some researchers feel that the drugs of the future for treating obesity will properly stimulate the leptin in the body to physically cut down on uncontrollable hunger pangs.

Childhood obesity of course increase the risk of many health risks throughout life, but it also has some immediate risks associated with it. A study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics found that while overweight children face 30 percent higher risks of experiencing mental, medical, or developmental issues, but obese children have a 200 percent higher risk.

Obese children are significantly more likely to develop issues such as allergies, asthma, ADHD, depression, developmental issues, learning disabilities, issues with their bones, joints, and muscles, have headaches, ear aches, and they miss school days in general, and have other issues at school.

It is not completely clear which part of obesity can be attributed to these plethora of problems, but it might have something to do with the interaction of stress hormones released in an overweight body which can change the sensitivity levels of leptin and alter impulse control.