By Robert Cervin, May 9th, 2013

Daily shots of growth hormone helped a small group of severely obese people to lose fat, especially in the abdominal area.

Growth hormone is generally used to help children with a deficiency to grow normally. But it may have other uses. Researchers at St Louis University School of Medicine present a report of the application of growth hormone for weight loss.

A group of 39 volunteers who were about 40 per cent over their ideal weight were given daily injections of either growth hormone or placebo. They also met regularly with a dietician and were encouraged to slowly lose weight by exercising and reducing their daily caloric intake by 500 calories. Those who took the growth hormone lost a modest five pounds on average. The loss was mainly fat and mainly in the abdominal area which is encouraging in terms of future health. Abdominal fat is a risk factor for heart disease.

The researchers are unsure why those on growth hormone lost weight. Levels of growth hormone decrease when someone becomes obese and in this trial, levels were restored to normal by the injections. It may be that growth hormone decreases appetite, or gives people more energy to exercise.