Weight Regulation and the Role of Leptin

Obesity has become a world-wide epidemic, particularly in developed countries. It is associated with a number of serious morbidities, including Type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and hypertension. The current cost of obesity/Type 2 diabetes syndromes to the U.S. economy is staggering estimated by some to be $ 1 00 billion annually. As alarming as these facts are, it is projected that if the present trend continues, by the year 2,010 some 50% of the U.S. population will be obese, and that of these 30 million will be afflicted with Type 2 diabetes (Fig. 1).