A new obesity jab, branded as the 'most exciting' weight loss agent yet, helped patients ditch on average 10lbs [4.4kg] in a month, a study has found.
The injection, which contains fat-burning hormones, was given to 15 obese people, with the results compared to a placebo, gastric bypass operation and low-calorie diet.
Experts found that gastric bypasses and low-calorie diets were more effective than the jab, resulting in patients losing 1st 8lbs [10.3kg] and 1st 4lbs [8.3kg] in weight, respectively.
However, researchers at Imperial College London say the test shows that weight loss can be achieved with the jab, avoiding the need for invasive surgery which can result in nasty side-effects.
The blood sugar levels of the participants in the study, who all had diabetes, returned to normal during the trial.
Professor Tricia Tan, lead author of the study, said: "There is a real need to find new medicines so we can improve and save the lives of many patients.
"Although this is a small study our new combination hormone treatment is promising and has shown significant improvements in patients' health in only four weeks.
"Compared to other methods (such as a gastric bypass) the treatment is non-invasive."
During a gastric bypass, surgeons make a small bag in the stomach and link it to the small intestine, which leads to food bypassing the rest of the stomach - therefore making the person feel fuller when they eat.
The patients involved in the study were slowly injected with hormones over a 12-hour period each day.
Their weight loss was compared with 11 people who received salt water jabs, 21 patients who underwent surgery and 22 who tried a low-calorie diet.
The salt water participants lost 5.5lbs [2.5kg] of weight in a month, while the obesity jab resulted in patients shedding an average of 10lbs [4.4kg].
