Hunger hormone findings could point to breakthrough on obesity
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Medical scientists have identified the first human hormone to stimulate a person's appetite, a discovery that could lead to new treatments for patients with severe weight loss.
Drugs that can block the hormone, which is involved in generating hunger pangs, might also provide doctors with new ways of suppressing the appetite of overweight people, scientists say.
Alison Wren, a research fellow at Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College in London, said an experiment on human volunteers had shown that the hormone, called ghrelin, was important for regulating food intake.
"Levels of ghrelin are highest in the morning before breakfast and then fall during the day after each meal. No other hormone has been found to stimulate appetite before, although some have been found for appetite suppression," Dr Wren said.
In the "double blind" study, volunteers were given ghrelin injections or a placebo of a simple saline solution and neither they nor the scientists knew on which day they had the hormone until after the experiment was over. Dr Wren said that on the days when the subjects were given ghrelin they ate up to 30 per cent more food.
"It became patently obvious to us and to them whether they had the hormone or the placebo injection," she said.
Even a small increase in calories consumed over a long period can have a big effect on weight. Estimates suggest that a man weighing 75kg (12 stone) will put on an extra 15kg over 10 years by increasing his calorie intake by 1 per cent.
Dr Wren said the immediate practical benefit of the findings would be to give cancer patients ghrelin to help them to recover their appetite. Another area of research would involve blocking the hormone to suppress hunger pangs experienced by overweight people.
"There is little effective medical treatment for obesity and we are very excited to have taken this step towards a future therapy,"Dr Wren said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments