The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and oxytocin on food craving and weight control in obese individuals with food addiction: a double-blind clinical trial

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Oxytocin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Despite substantial advancements in obesity research, its prevalence continues to rise, and weight loss remains a persistent challenge despite numerous weight management programs.

Food addiction has emerged as a novel factor contributing to obesity, garnering considerable attention.

Some individuals consume specific foods in quantities exceeding their physiological needs, indicating a lack of control over their eating behavior.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 19 participants were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to four groups (19 participants each).

Body weight and food craving symptoms before and after treatment.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized and double-blind study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Oxytocin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

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

The timeline in the abstract includes 15 days.

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on obese individuals with food addiction.

Sixty individuals of both genders with obesity (BMI ≥ 30).

Oxytocin nasal spray, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), combined oxytocin & tDCS, and sham groups treated for 15 days.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Craving, Oxytocin, Obesity, Food Addiction and Combined Modality Therapy.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), cognitive function and weight control.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of Oxytocin in 19 participants over 15 days.

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.

Results are reported in around 4 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2026 (The International journal of neuroscience), a journal based in England.

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