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Kent Holtorf, MD is a California-based expert on hormonal medicine. Kent Holtorf, MD

Updated December 16, 2014.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Dr. Holtorf has been working with a number of his patients -- many of whom have an underactive thyroid -- who have found it difficult or seemingly impossible to lose weight.

What he discovered is that while there are many factors involved in the inability to lose weight, almost all the overweight and obese patients he treats have demonstrable metabolic and endocrinological dysfunctions that are major contributors to the weight challenges of these patients. In particular, Dr. Holtorf has, based on some of the latest research, focused on evaluating two key hormones -- leptin and reverse T3 (rT3)-- and treating any identified irregularities to help his patients lose weight.

I'm pleased to be able to bring you this interview with Dr. Kent Holtorf, discussing his approaches to help thyroid patients achieve long-term weight loss.

Mary Shomon: You have said that you feel that two key hormones -- leptin and reverse T3 -- are playing a key role in regulating weight and metabolism. Can you tell us a bit about leptin, first, and what it has to do with weight loss challenges?

Kent Holtorf, MD: The hormone leptin has been found to be a major regulator of body weight and metabolism.

Leptin is secreted by fat cells and the levels of leptin increase with the accumulation of fat. The increased leptin secretion that occurs with increased weight normally feeds-back to the hypothalamus as a signal that there are adequate energy (fat) stores. This stimulates the body to burn fat rather than continue to store excess fat, and stimulates thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) to increase thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid production.

Studies are finding, however, that the majority of overweight individuals who are having difficulty losing weight have varying degrees of leptin resistance, where leptin has a diminished ability to affect the hypothalamus and regulate metabolism. This leptin resistance results in the hypothalamus sensing starvation, so multiple mechanisms are activated to increase fat stores, as the body tries to reverse the perceived state of starvation.

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Long-Term Weight-Loss for Thyroid Patients

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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » Long-Term Weight-Loss for Thyroid Patients