Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
White and Brown Adipose Grafts: An Approach to Correct Reproductive, Metabolic, and Renal Deficits in Black and Tan Brachyury (BTBR) Obese Mice
Published on: September 9, 2025
Leptin associations with age, weight, and sex among chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Richard G Bribiescas1, Stephanie F Anestis
1Department of Anthropology, Reproductive Ecology Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. richard.bribiescas@yale.edu
Background:
Leptin is a hormone secreted primarily by adipocytes, a lipostatic signal to the hypothalamus, and is often correlated with adiposity. Associations between leptin, age, and development are unknown in human's closest evolutionary relative, the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).
Methods:
Serum leptin was assessed cross sectionally in association with age, weight, and sex in healthy captive chimpanzee males (n = 47) and females (n = 49) to test hypotheses related to predicted differences in leptin levels with body mass, development, and sexual dimorphism.
Results:
Leptin increased with age and weight among females, but not in males. Leptin was overall higher in females compared to males.
Conclusions:
Sex differences in leptin were most evident during adolescence and adulthood, despite similar increases in weight in both sexes indicating that sexual maturation is a key divergence point for differential somatic investment in adiposity and leptin levels between male and female chimpanzees.
