A drug-free diet pill could help millions of people lose that muscle mass, researchers say.
Scientists have revealed the first promising results of their experimental capsule which tricks the body into thinking it is full, just like Ozempic and Wegovy.
People who received the pill consumed an average of 13% of their calories during a single meal.
Unlike popular weight loss programs, the new invention contains only nutrients, meaning it is potentially free of any side effects.
Further testing is needed before the yet-to-be-named pill is available for purchase.
Scientists have revealed the first promising results of their experimental capsule which tricks the body into thinking it is full, just like Ozempic and Wegovy. People who received the pill consumed an average of 13% of their calories during a single meal.
But scientists hope it could eventually play a role in tackling Britain’s obesity crisis.
Inventor Dr Madusha Peiris, a neuroscientist at Queen Mary University of London, claimed the pill prompts the body to produce more of the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, which regulates appetite and feelings of fullness .
Medications like Ozempic are synthetic and mimic the hormone.
She said The sun: “We have developed a way to hijack the system that all humans have to detect nutrients and make us feel full.
“So far, no one has had any side effects and we think that’s because these are nutrients that are in your food anyway, which is very different from a drug.”
“No other company is taking this nutrient-based approach.”
The results showed that the capsule, tested on 60 people, helped eight out of ten people eat less food after taking the pills twice a day.
Its exact ingredients are not revealed in the terms of the patent.
But some are known to come from broccoli, coconut oil and perilla oil.
Developer Enterika, backed by Queen Mary University’s investment fund, has won a £50,000 government grant to expand testing to 150 patients over the summer.
Dr Peiris said: “Obesity is a global public health problem that requires safe, effective, accessible and complementary treatments to reduce the amount of food consumed.
“We demonstrated in a clinical trial that our nutrient-based approach can reduce food consumption. We now need to show how different doses have different effects.”
“This will allow us to produce a natural but clinically proven and validated product to the same standards as a pharmaceutical drug.”
It comes as pharmaceutical titan Novo Nordisk earlier this month revealed promising early results from its experimental drug, amycretin.
The weight loss pill is similar to Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic, targeting the same glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone.
But it showed that patients could lose more than 13 percent of their weight after just 12 weeks, suggesting it could be up to twice as effective as injections.
Analysts predict the obesity market could reach £79 billion ($100 billion) by 2030.
Health experts, however, last month urged Britons not to rely on weight loss programs as a quick fix to solve the crisis at the same meeting with the Lords, warning that they “are not the answer ” and “will inevitably cause long-term problems.”
Pharmaceutical titan Novo Nordisk earlier this month revealed promising early results from its experimental drug amycretin, which showed patients could lose more than 13% of their weight after just 12 weeks. In contrast, the revolutionary weight loss vaccine Wegovy is proven to help people lose up to 6% over the same period. Trial participants lost more than 13% of their body weight in just three months, a rate that far exceeds the time it took for Wegovy to take action.
Ozempic is currently only available on the NHS as a treatment to manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
Its spectacular slimming effects have pushed doctors and pharmacists to offer it “off-label” to people wishing to lose weight.
Health chiefs, however, advised against doing so due to supply issues, warning it put the lives of diabetics at risk.
Wegovy was approved last year, specifically for weight loss.
A month’s supply is available privately from Boots and Superdrug for around £200. The eligibility criteria for people wanting to get the drug on the NHS are strict.
Lack of exercise, combined with an unhealthy diet, has been blamed for the UK’s growing obesity epidemic.
The latest NHS data shows that 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and 38 per cent are overweight but not obese.