Chelsea Lee
Medical Research Editor
WhereismyDoctor.com

Flab Jab Diet Miracle

July 30th, 2012

A study published last year in the Lancet Medical Journal estimated that 50% of British men may become obese within just 20 years.

And women are not much better off. That same publication predicted 40% of British women will be obese by the year 2030.

As obesity rates continue to rise, doctors and health professionals continue to search for healthy weight loss options.

Of course a diet high in nutrition and low in fat will always be encouraged. And for the dangerously overweight and obese, bariatric surgery is an option to seriously consider.

But scientists are excited about promising results from a mouse trial studying the effects of a potential weight loss vaccine.

Dr. Keith Haffer, the lead author of the study, says of the news "Although further studies are necessary to discover the long term implications of these vaccines, treatment of human obesity with vaccination could provide physicians with a drug and surgical-free option against the weight epidemic."

The vaccine works by prompting the immune system to attack somatostatin, a hormone that tends to slow the metabolism and thus cause weight gain.

A mere four days after receiving the vaccine, obese mice in the study dropped 10% of their body weight. Mice which did not receive the vaccine did not see any weight loss.

Equally exciting as the weight loss in the mice is the fact that the vaccine did not affect other normal hormone levels.

The study was published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, and reports that "The vaccination effects did not significantly reduce cumulative food consumption and was confirmed by residual anti-somatostatin antibodies in mouse plasma at the study's end."

While the mouse trials have been successful so far, scientists plan to test the vaccination on dogs and pigs before beginning human trials.

Find bariatric centers near you for more information.