Research

Hormonal

Exogenous oxytocin administration reduces body weight and food intake in diet-induced obese rodents and non-human primates by acting on oxytocin receptors in the hindbrain (NTS) and hypothalamus to enhance satiety signals and increase energy expenditure.

Research suggests oxytocin may help reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure in obese individuals, particularly those with leptin resistance. However, current human trials are short-term, and long-term safety and optimal dosing (especially via intranasal spray) are still being determined. It is not yet a standard, widely available treatment for obesity.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
We and others have shown that OT circumvents leptin resistance and elicits weight loss in diet-induced obese rodents and non-human primates by reducing both food intake and increasing energy expenditure (EE).
Jingjing Niu et al. · Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2021

Why this rating

Strong evidence in rodents and primates, but human evidence is limited to short-term trials with small sample sizes and potential side effects.

Source

Oxytocin as an Anti-obesity Treatment

Jingjing Niu et al. · Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2021

DOI 10.3389/fnins.2021.743546

narrative_reviewCited 33×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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