A New Hormone Injection May Net the Same Results as Weight Loss Surgery
If you’ve ever considered gastric bypass surgery, but were unsure about the invasiveness of the procedure, there’s new hope on the horizon. In a recent study in England, participants showed similarly promising weight loss results without going under the knife.
Researchers at the Imperial College London were inspired by previous studies which showed a specific set of hormones — glucagon-like peptide-1, oxyntomodulin, and peptide YY (GOP) — are released in higher levels in patients after gastric bypass surgery. This combination helps to reduce appetite while also improving the way bodies absorbed sugar.
With that in mind, they decided to see what would happen if subjects skipped right over the surgical step and went straight to getting hormones injected. They observed 15 patients battling obesity and gave them a mixture of the GOP hormones for a month and, although the group was small, their findings showed significant weight loss. On average, patients lost about 10 pounds without any notable side effects. On the other hand, bypass surgery has been known to cause problems like chronic nausea, low blood sugar, and stomach pain.
“This result shows it is possible to obtain some of the same benefits of a gastric bypass operation without undergoing the surgery itself,” explained professor Tricia Tan, lead author of the study. “Compared to other methods, the treatment is non-invasive and reduced glucose levels to near-normal levels in our patients.”
More research needs to be done, but this is definitely exciting news for anyone battling obesity or type 2 diabetes. It’s also important to note that on top of the hormones, patients were also given advice on healthy eating from a dietician.
An injection might not sound like fun, but it’s certainly less intense than a surgical procedure. Here’s hoping more research can back these findings up ASAP. In the meantime, we can all do our best to eat healthier and get a little bit of exercise in.
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