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Oxytocin reduces caloric intake in men
Plain-language guide to PMID 25865294 (2015): placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial study of Oxytocin in 25 men.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 25865294
- Journal
- Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
- Year
- 2015
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Lawson EA et al. (6 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1002/oby.21069
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The paper reports a study of Oxytocin, published as a randomized controlled trial.
Oxytocin effects on nutrition and metabolism in humans are not well defined.
Metabolic effects of oxytocin were also explored.
Visual analog scales were used to assess appetite, and blood was drawn for appetite-regulating hormones, insulin, and glucose before and after oxytocin/placebo.
Who Took Part
The study group was 25 men.
PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, men only.
After oxytocin/placebo, subjects selected breakfast from a menu and were given double portions.
How the Study Was Run
The design is described as randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover.
Because people in this Oxytocin study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.
The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Oxytocin could be set against what happens without it.
In the crossover set-up each of the men took both Oxytocin and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.
Caloric content of food consumed was measured.
Indirect calorimetry assessed resting energy expenditure (REE) and substrate utilization.
What Was Measured
PubMed files the paper under topics including Appetite, Appetite Depressants, Blood Glucose, Calorimetry, Indirect, Cholecystokinin, Energy Intake and Energy Metabolism.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Oxytocin in 25 men.
With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.
The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.
The publication is from 2015 (Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)), a journal based in United States.
More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compound
Oxytocin: A peptide hormone with established obstetric medical uses and a less settled role in research on behavior, sexual function and appetite.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.