PYY Weight Loss Hormone Study
Weight Loss Hormone Study Summary
A hormone produced by the intestines, called peptide YY3-36 (PYY), could
help obese people lose weight, new research suggests. This is the first
time that a hormone has been shown to cause a long-term reduction in calorie
intake in obese volunteers. Now studies over a longer period need to be
carried out to see whether the decrease in appetite and food intake, translates
into weight loss.
PYY Hormone Appetite Control
PYY has been shown to curb the appetites of normal weight individuals,
but it was unclear if the hormone would also work for obese people. Leptin,
a hormone that works in similar way as PYY, only seems to reduce food
intake in normal weight individuals, not in obese people.
Weight Loss Hormone Study Method
The new findings, which are reported in The New England Journal of Medicine,
are based on a study of 12 obese and 12 lean subjects who were treated
with injections of PYY or an inactive chemical. Even before giving the
injections, the authors noted that obese subjects had lower body levels
of PYY compared with lean subjects. In addition, the lower the PYY level,
the more obese the subject.
Weight Loss Hormone Study Results
When both lean and obese subjects were offered a buffet lunch, they ate
far fewer calories if they had first been given PYY rather than an inactive
chemical. Moreover, PYY treatment was tied to a dramatic drop in the 24-hour
calorie intake in both groups.
Further testing revealed that the PYY infusion produced a fall in plasma
levels of ghrelin, a well-known appetite-stimulating hormone.
Weight Loss Hormone Study Conclusion
Despite the encouraging results, it is unlikely that treatment with PYY
or any single drug will provide a magic bullet to induce and maintain
weight loss. Successful pharmacological treatment for obesity may be possible
only by simultaneously targeting all of the body systems that are involved
in food intake.
Source: The New England Journal of Medicine,
September 3, 2003.
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