Scientists explore role of PYY in obesity

A team of researchers at University College London say that recent experiments highlight the importance of the gut hormone PYY in obesity. PYY, which is created by high protein diets, send signals to the brain that indicates fullness. Low levels of PYY are associated with cases of obesity. The researchers bred a strain of mice unable to produce PYY to determine the effect of a high-protein diet. The mice ate large amounts of food and became obese. When the mice were treated with PYY, they lost weight, only to put the weight back on when the treatments stopped. The researchers said that their results indicate that even a small shift in diets toward high-protein foods would help people lose weight. New studies in humans are being planned to further test that theory.

- here's the BBC's report on the study