Obese women are less sensitive for the satiety effects of bombesin than lean women.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate whether infusion of bombesin, when combined with a gastric preload, influence satiety and foot intake in obese and lean healthy women.

DESIGN

Double blind, placebo controlled study.

SETTING

Department of Gastroenterology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.

SUBJECTS

Obese (n = 7) and lean (n = 7) healthy women.

INTERVENTIONS

Intravenous infusion of bombesin (0.09 nmol/kg ideal weight/h) or placebo for 165 min. Gastric preload of banana slices was administered at time 60 min. Meal ingestion started at time 75 min (banana slices). Food intake was calculated and satiety was measured by visual analog scales.

RESULTS

During infusion of bombesin the amount of food eaten by the lean individuals (193+/-37 g) was significantly reduced compared to saline infusion (365+/-42 g, P < 0.05). However, bombesin induced no significant feeding suppression in obese women when compared to saline (241+/-46 vs 301+/-45 g, respectively). The decrease in food intake during bombesin infusion compared to saline was significantly greater in lean subjects (173+/-30 g) than in obese subjects (59+/-35 g; P < 0.05). Only in lean subjects subjective preprandial hunger feelings were significantly affected by bombesin infusion.

CONCLUSIONS

Infusion of bombesin, when combined with a gastric preload, inhibits food intake and increases satiety in lean women. Obese women are less sensitive for these bombesin induced satiety effects.