'Flab jab' could battle obesity, say scientists
Obesity is an ever-growing problem in modern Western society but a simple injection could yet win the battle of the bulge, according to scientists.
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Researchers from US firm Braasch Biotech claim to invented the 'flab jab', a vaccine that could not only keep you slim but could also allow you to eat what you like.
In tests, mice that were given just one injection lost 10 per cent of their body weight in just four days, despite being fed on a high-fat diet.
The jab works by tricking the immune system into making antibodies that battle a metabolism-slowing hormone called somatostatin. With the antibodies preventing the hormone from doing its worst, the metabolism speeds up and the weight drops off.
According to researchers, after the initial 10 per cent weight loss, the mice needed only a booster jab three weeks later to keep their weight down. Meanwhile, levels of other vital hormones were left unaffected.
Lead researcher Dr Keith Haffer, whose report was published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, wrote: "This study demonstrates the possibility of treating obesity with vaccination.
"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."
What do you think? Would you be willing to try the 'flab jab'? Leave your comments below...
