New generation diet pill which mimics hormone ready for human trials

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London: A new generation of hormone diet drugs which could be as effective as weight-loss surgery could soon be on the market after the announcement that it was ready for human trials.

Scientists believe the drug, which creates a false feeling that a person is full, could offer a breakthrough in the treatment of obesity, which is predicted to reach epidemic levels in the coming decades.

One in four Britons is now classed as obese, one in three 10-year-olds is either overweight or obese and more than one million obesity drugs are prescribed every year.Experts estimate that by 2050 half of all adults will be classed as clinically obese.

The drug, which has been developed by Imperial College London, offers an alternative to gastroplasty, or stomach stapling, which uses surgery to reduce the size of the stomach.

It has been developed by Steve Bloom, a medical professor at the university, who has produced a synthetic version of a hormone called oxyntomodulin, which is known to help obese patients reduce their food intake.

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