Research
Hormonal
Obese individuals exhibit a diminished endogenous postprandial Peptide YY (PYY) response compared to lean individuals, despite consuming more calories.
If you are obese, your body may not produce enough PYY after meals to signal fullness effectively, making it harder to stop eating. This is a biological reality, not a lack of willpower. Strategies that support gut health and satiety signaling are important, but recognizing this biological barrier can reduce self-blame and help in seeking appropriate interventions.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In the obese subjects, the endogenous postprandial PYY response was diminished as compared with that in the lean subjects, even though the obese subjects consumed a greater number of calories.
Why this rating
Based on the cited Batterham et al. study comparing lean and obese subjects.
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×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Successful long-term weight loss maintenance likely requires targeting multiple redundant hormonal systems simultaneously rather than a single molecule.Strong
- 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.Good
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