Does Blocking Growth Hormone Improve Insulin Sensitivity During Fasting in Obese People?
Substrate Metabolism and Insulin Sensitivity During Fasting in Obese Human Subjects: Impact of GH Blockade
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Researchers gave obese men a drug (pegvisomant) to block growth hormone while they fasted for 3 days. They compared this to normal fasting and a regular fed state. The drug helped their bodies respond better to insulin and produce less glucose.
Surprising Findings
Fasting actually causes insulin resistance in obese people
Conventional wisdom suggests fasting improves metabolic health. This study shows the opposite happens in obese males due to elevated growth hormone.
Practical Takeaways
This study is too preliminary to recommend any practical changes. The full methodology cannot be verified, sample size is tiny (n=9), and only male subjects were studied.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Researchers gave obese men a drug (pegvisomant) to block growth hormone while they fasted for 3 days. They compared this to normal fasting and a regular fed state. The drug helped their bodies respond better to insulin and produce less glucose.
Surprising Findings
Fasting actually causes insulin resistance in obese people
Conventional wisdom suggests fasting improves metabolic health. This study shows the opposite happens in obese males due to elevated growth hormone.
Practical Takeaways
This study is too preliminary to recommend any practical changes. The full methodology cannot be verified, sample size is tiny (n=9), and only male subjects were studied.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Year
2017
Authors
M. H. Pedersen, M. Svart, J. Lebeck, M. Bidlingmaier, H. Stødkilde-Jørgensen, S. Pedersen, N. Møller, N. Jessen, J. Jørgensen
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Claims (5)
When men with obesity fast for 3 days while also blocking growth hormone, their bodies become better at using insulin again.
When obese men go without food for 3 days, their bodies make more growth hormone.
Growth hormone helps control how the body breaks down and uses energy from food, and it affects how well the body responds to insulin—especially in people who are obese.
When obese men fast for 3 days, blocking their growth hormone lowers the amount of sugar their bodies produce.
When obese men fast, blocking growth hormone makes insulin better at reducing fat-related molecules in their blood.