Oxytocin's inhibitory effect on food intake is stronger in obese than normal-weight men

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Oxytocin in this controlled clinical trial publication.

Energy expenditure was repeatedly assessed by indirect calorimetry and blood was sampled to determine concentrations of blood glucose and hormones.

Who Took Part

The study group was 18 men.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, men only.

In double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments, ad libitum food intake from a test buffet was examined in fasted subjects 45 min after oxytocin administration, followed by the assessment of postprandial, reward-driven snack intake.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover and pilot.

Neither the men nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Oxytocin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Oxytocin could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between Oxytocin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Oxytocin study would be practical.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Appetite Depressants, Case-Control Studies, Eating, Energy Intake, Energy Metabolism, Feeding Behavior and Germany.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Oxytocin in 18 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 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2016 (International journal of obesity (2005)), a journal based in England.

More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.