Well, we know that love can inspire us to do great things in life looks like it can help us to lose weight as well.
According to recent research published in Endocrine Society, the hormone ‘oxytocin’, which is also called the love hormone, can help in reducing weight.
The study was represented by a team of researchers at ENDO 2019 worked on how oxytocin alters how people with obesity process images of high-calorie foods.
First, what is Oxytocin?
Oxytocin is an important hormone produced by the body and that plays an important role in our social interactions and bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth and say breastfeeding.
It is released in the bloodstream in response to stretching of the cervix and uterus during labour. In some cases, it is even used as a medication for childbirth.
How does it help us to lose weight?
Among other functions, oxytocin also affects your relationship with food. This hormone weakens the brain’s reward signals for food and therefore affects your eating behaviour and metabolism.
Previous research had revealed the oxytocin spray can also have effects on eating behaviours by interacting with brain circuits.
“Knowing how the drug exerts its effects is a critical step toward establishing oxytocin as a drug treatment for overeating and obesity,” says Dr Liya Kerem, the study’s lead investigator, who is a pediatric endocrinologist and a researcher in Boston.
The study was conducted on 10 young overweight men who were otherwise healthy. The subjects were made to visit the lab twice where they received a single dose of either oxytocin spray or a placebo. The participants were not aware of what treatment they were being given. The scans revealed that people who consumed oxytocin had weakened functional connectivity at the areas relating to food motivation, in comparison to those who had the placebo. People also did not experience any side effects of oxytocin treatment.
