Hormone Injection May Facilitate Weight Loss

Investigators determined that injections ofthe natural hormone oxyntomodulin resulted insignificant weight loss in a 4-week study. Thebody releases this hormone after meals to makepeople feel less hungry. Researchers randomly injectedoxyntomodulin or placebo before meals to 26 obese andoverweight patients 3 times a day, 30 minutes prior to mealtimefor 4 weeks. Participants maintained their normal diet and physical activityduring that time. In the oxyntomodulin group, body weight decreased by 5 lbversus 1 lb in the placebo group. The group receiving the hormone injectionsshowed changes in the levels of fat-related hormones leptin and adiponectin,which indicated a decrease in fat. The oxyntomodulin group ate less, but theirperception of their meals did not change. Researchers concluded that this naturalhormone "may provide a more specific treatment for obesity" than othertreatments.

Ms. Farley is a freelance medical writer based in Wakefield, RI.