Is That Why Opera Singers Become Fat?

Have you ever wondered why a large percentage of opera singers are quite rotund? Well, Peter Osin, a consultant at London's Royal Marsden Hospital has formulated a scientific theory that sounds pretty convincing to me the Biology major/Classical Music lover. Osin suggests that lung cells are able to release certain hormones including leptin, the number-one suspect attributed to obesity. The hormone leptin is responsible for regulating appetite and when there is an abundance of it, we eat, eat, eat. Operatic singing is extremely strenuous on the lungs and it seems that the lungs respond by releasing hormones including leptin. Thus, weight gain seems to be a natural side-effect of opera singing. Osin admits that the general lifestyle of opera singers, that is, late meals, hotel stays, travel through time zones could also be to blame. Certainly an interesting theory in my opinion. [From the Los Angeles Times]