Healthier hormones through diet and exercise

In breast cancer some studies have pointed to a high ratio of leptin to adiponectin as a major influence in the breast microenvironment. (See link further below)

www.dkfz.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/2013/dkfz-pm-13-14-Better-Hormones-Through-Diet-and-Exercise.php

 This study was done with 3 intervention groups (diet; exercise; diet+exercise) as well as a control group. 

 Leptin production decreased in all three intervention groups, most noticeably (up to 40 percent) in the diet+exercise group. By contrast, adiponectin production increased most in women who were on a reduced calorie diet only.

Irrespective of the type of intervention, the positive effect on hormone production was dependent on the degree of weight loss: The more kilos a study participant had lost, the more her adiponectin levels increased and the more her leptin levels decreased. “We observed the greatest changes in women who had lost ten percent of their initial body weight,” says Dr. Clare Abbenhardt, first author of the study. “Some of these participants reached a 20 percent increase in adiponectin levels and their leptin decreased by more than 50 percent.”

Leptin production appears to be influenced by mere changes of body composition, because in the exercise intervention group, participants gained muscle mass also without losing weight.

http://www.nature.com/nrendo/journal/v8/n5/abs/nrendo.2011.184.html

The multifactorial role of leptin in driving the breast cancer microenvironment.

A reduced adiponectin:leptin ratio is associated with increased breast cancer risk, and obese mice have a considerably reduced adiponectin:leptin ratio compared with lean mice. When mammary tumor development is prevented by intermittent calorie restriction, the adiponectin:leptin ratio is highest during the periods of reduced calorie intake. Thus, weight loss might be one mechanism that could simultaneously lower serum leptin levels and increase serum adiponectin levels. Diet composition can also affect leptin levels and/or the adiponectin:leptin ratio. For example, consumption of a low-fat diet both reduced leptin levels and increased adiponectin levels, resulting in an increase in the adiponectin:leptin ratio.