Research

Hormonal

Exogenous administration of Peptide YY (PYY) reduces appetite and food consumption by approximately 30% in both lean and obese humans, primarily through inhibition of gut motility and hypothalamic signaling.

Your gut produces a hormone called PYY to tell your brain you are full. In obesity, this signal is often weaker. While injecting PYY works in studies, it is not a standalone cure. Focus on foods that naturally stimulate PYY release (like those reaching the distal small bowel) and respect the satiety signals your body sends, as relying on a single 'magic bullet' hormone therapy is unlikely to succeed long-term.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The investigators found that a single infusion of PYY, as compared with an infusion of saline, reduced appetite and food consumption by approximately 30 percent at an all-you-want-to-eat buffet lunch provided two hours after the infusion.
Judith Körner et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2003

Why this rating

Based on a specific human study (Batterham et al.) cited in a high-impact review, showing clear acute effects, though long-term efficacy is noted as uncertain.

Source

To Eat or Not to Eat — How the Gut Talks to the Brain

Judith Körner et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2003

DOI 10.1056/nejmp038114

narrative_reviewCited 203×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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