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Obese Individuals Experience Modest Weight Loss with Growth-Hormone Therapy: Presented at ENDO

By Maggie Schwarz

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- June 24, 2003 -- A controlled dose of growth hormone may help people who are obese to lose weight and maintain the energy to exercise, researchers reported here on June 20^th at the Endocrine Society's 85^th Annual Meeting.

Obese individuals exhibit lower growth-hormone levels than people who are not obese. Stewart Albert, MD, professor of internal medicine, division of endocrinology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri, led a team of researchers in calculating the amount of growth hormone that would have been present had a person not been obese, and replaced it with nightly injections of growth hormone or placebo for 6 months.

Thirty-nine volunteers who were nearly 40% overweight (calculated according to an average body mass index of 37) completed the 9-month study. All met with a registered dietician monthly and were encouraged to slowly lose weight by exercising and reducing their daily caloric intake by 500 calories. Twenty-three subjects self-injected growth hormone nightly and 17 self-administered placebo injections.

Body weight, body fat, and resting metabolic weight were measured in all subjects.

"People who took growth hormone lost an average of 2.4 kg, or 5.25 pounds. This weight loss was all due to loss of body fat; they did not lose any muscle mass," Dr. Albert said. "Most of the fat loss was in the abdominal area. There were also improvements in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of about 19%. There was no change in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, insulin sensitivity or blood pressure. One participant had oedema and discontinued therapy."

"We do not know why people lost weight," said Dr. Albert. "They may have had a decrease in appetite or an increase in energy because they maintained muscle mass and were able to exercise."

Dr. Albert said, "In the past, when growth hormone was used to restore the body's natural levels, the doses were too high. People had side effects and didn't want to continue. In our study, growth hormone was given at a more balanced dose and people lost weight, which was entirely due to loss of fat."

Based on this research, Dr. Albert concluded that low-dose growth hormone therapy is useful, and may be incorporated into weight-loss programs.

This research was supported by a clinical grant from Pharmacia, of New York.


[Study title: Low-Dose Growth Hormone (GH) as an Adjuvant to Life Style Modifications in the Therapy of Obesity. Abstract OR20-3]

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