Introduction: Overweight and obesity present significant public health concerns because of the link with numerous chronic health conditions. During the last ten years, since the discovery of leptin, great advances were obtained in the characterization oh the hypothalamic mechanisms involved in the control of food intake and thermogenesis.
Development: This review will present some the most recent findings in this field. It will be focused on the actions of leptin and insulin in the hypothalamus and will explore the hypothesis that hypothalamic resistance to the action of these hormones may play a key role in the development of obesity.
Conclusions: The physical activity is an important component on long-term weight control. The exercise markedly increased phosphorylation activity of several proteins involved in leptin and insulin signal transduction in the hypothalamus. Recently our laboratory showed that physical activity increase in sensitivity to leptin- and insulin-induced anorexia after enhances interleukin-6 production. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that the appetite-suppressive actions of exercise may be mediated by the hypothalamus.