University of California Researchers Identify Asprosin Hormone as Critical Biological Factor in Postmenopausal Weight Management

UC Irvine study identifies asprosin as a key hormone for weight stability in postmenopausal women, offering a new target for precision obesity prevention.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 11, 2026, 5:41 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from University of California - Irvine

The Discovery of a Fasting Induced Weight Regulator

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health have uncovered a significant link between the hormone asprosin and long-term weight stability in postmenopausal women. Asprosin, a hormone primarily secreted by adipose tissue, is known to influence energy balance by signaling the brain to promote appetite and stimulating the liver to release glucose. While previous clinical observations had associated the hormone with general metabolic disorders, this first of its kind study establishes its prospective role in predicting how body composition changes over time. According to the findings published in The Journal of Nutrition, asprosin may function as a natural defense against the rapid weight gain typically observed during the postmenopausal transition.

Leveraging Decades of Data from the Women’s Health Initiative

The research team, led by distinguished professor Simin Liu, conducted a comprehensive analysis of data from more than 4,000 women who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative. This national study tracked participants between the ages of 50 and 79 across 40 clinical centers. By examining blood samples collected in the late 1990s and monitoring physical changes over a three year period, the investigators were able to chart how baseline hormone levels dictated future physiological outcomes. This longitudinal approach provided a rare look at the biological drivers of weight trajectories, moving beyond simple caloric intake or exercise habits to look at the underlying hormonal environment of the aging female body.

Identifying the Threshold for Metabolic Protection

The study’s most striking results were found among women who were not obese and did not have diabetes at the start of the observation period. Those with the highest measured asprosin levels were 43 percent less likely to experience major weight gain compared to their counterparts with the lowest levels. Furthermore, these women were 83 percent more likely to achieve significant weight loss over the three year follow up. However, the researchers noted a complex trade off, as some of this weight loss was linked to a reduction in lean body mass. According to the data, asprosin appears to act as a weight stabilizer only when metabolic health is intact, suggesting that its protective ben...