Chew Away Those Extra Pounds

One day you may be able to control your appetite with chewing gum. Researchers in London have found an appetite-suppressing chewing gum made with the hormone called pancreatic polypeptide (PP), which mimics the body's "feeling full" response.

The hormone is naturally produced after every meal to ensure eating does not run out of control, but it can be diminished in overweight people, thus causing appetite to increase, resulting in more weight.

With £2.2m in funding, the team at The Imperial College hopes to complete their testing, perfect the gum and market it to the overweight/obese demographic. Over 30,000 deaths a year are caused by obesity in England.

This gum sounds like an appealing weight loss alternative for those who have “tried everything.” But don’t think the bubble-blowing alone will be the answer to all your problems, as the researchers state, "we would continue to recommend eating a healthy diet and doing regular physical activity as the first and best step to losing weight."