[Nubella News] - The perplexing battle to treat and cure obesity, as well as prevent people from getting overweight in the first place, gives nutritionists, dietitians and researchers heartburn. Meanwhile, obese and overweight people try diet plans, begin exercise programs, take medicine, and even undergo weight-loss surgery, many times to disappointing results.

However, the solution may be in their gut, literally.

Steve Bloom, a researcher at London's Imperial College, says overweight and obese people lack the proper level of a hormone in their stomachs that tells them they are full after a meal. But his study suggests that boosting the hormone oxyntomodulin would create a double whammy: limiting appetite while raising the urge to get physically active.

The result: speedy but healthy weight loss.

Double-digit results

"The discovery that this hormone increases energy expenditure and reduces food intake could be of huge importance," Bloom said, in April's International Journal of Obesity. "When most people diet, this produces a reduction in activity, making it especially difficult for obese individuals trying to loose weight.

"In contrast, oxyntomodulin decreasing caloric intake but also increasing energy expenditure makes it an ideal intervention for the obese."

Bloom reached his conclusions after studying 15 overweight, but otherwise healthy, 23- to 49-year-olds.  Half of them got doses of oxyntomodulin three times a day, while the other half, for comparison's sake, got saline injections.

On the fourth day, Bloom measured their energy expenditure and food intake. He discovered that after their first meal, they ate 17.4 percent less food and expended 26 percent more energy. Over the four days, they also lost about a half-percent of their body weight - or nearly 4 pounds in a week's time.

"Oxyntomodulin could work by letting the brain know it has an adequate energy supply and that it can afford to do productive things rather than concentrate solely on seeking food or conserving energy," Bloom said. "The brain can then get the signal to increase exercise because more energy is available."

Not a 'nasty drug'

Bloom's findings back up earlier studies that showed oxyntomodulin decreased appetite, but his research was the first link to increased physical activity - a critical factor in weight loss and long-term management. He said his findings could lead to treatment that would restore the proper level of the hormone through daily injections, much like diabetics give themselves insulin shots.

The hormone "is not like one of those nasty drugs where you have to take some horrible chemical for years," Bloom said. "It is naturally a occurring hormone. We are using the body's own method of limiting appetite.

"If people strip half naked in the street, exposing themselves to the public to undertake this exercise called jogging, then I can't see that they would have a problem with taking this hormone." 

Editor's Note: This article includes information from the BBC Network.

Source: Nubella News
Posted by: Steve Smith
Reference: International  Journal of Obesity
Website: www.nubella.com

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