As experts found out, women who have a high level of the hormone leptin in their blood have increased stress resistance and are also less prone to depression. Moreover, this ratio is directly related to the body mass index. Experimental evidence suggests that leptin reduces anxiety and relieves symptoms of depression. Elizabeth Dawson, a leading specialist in this study, claims that thin women contain much less leptin than full women.
Dr. Dawson suggests that it is leptin that has the property of an antidepressant. The level rises when a person begins to get fat. That is, the saying that overweight people are much kinder than thin ones is justified, since overweight people are less nervous, since the hormone leptin acts as an antidepressant. The smallest levels of leptin in the blood are people with dystrophy, as well as anorexics. Anorexia is extremely difficult to treat, since a lack of proper nutrition leads to a decrease in leptin, and, consequently, to exacerbation of anxiety and depression, which is the root cause of anorexia.
Anorexia nervosa is most often diagnosed in women, as well as other affective disorders associated with insufficient levels of leptin. It is precisely because leptin rises during nutrition that people are prone to gluttony during nervous overloads. Food, especially high-calorie foods, significantly increases blood sugar and leptin levels, which is why their mood temporarily rises, making it possible to survive stress. Perhaps monitoring the level of leptin will help in psychological therapy, for people with severe depression.