LEP and Obesity: A growing body of experimental data suggests that the association between circadian disruption and obesity can be attributed to dysregulation of energy homeostasis caused by altered rhythmicity of hormones, primarily melatonin, leptin, and glucocorticoids (46, 47).Later timing of food intake, which often results from circadian misalignment (48), has also been strongly linked to weight gain and obesity (49, 50), with potential mediating mechanisms including reduced resting and postprandial energy expenditure and increased insulin resistance (51, 52).