Trial reportObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2015
Oxytocin reduces caloric intake in men.
Trial report in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 199 citations in OpenAlex.
- A comprehensive analysis of oxytocin: a potential brain-based treatment to regulate obesity.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Reproductive hormone stability with prolonged intranasal oxytocin in adults with obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Trial
- Intravenous Oxytocin Has no Effect on Ad Libitum Food Intake or Postprandial Plasma Glucose Concentrations in Individuals With Obesity: A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover Study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Oxytocin Effects on Food Stimulus Processing and Food Intake in Females With or Without Binge Eating Disorder.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Trial
- Intranasal Oxytocin for Obesity.NEJM evidence · 2024Trial
- Intranasal Oxytocin Improves Lean Muscle Mass and Lowers LDL Cholesterol in Older Adults with Sarcopenic Obesity: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2021Trial
- Oxytocin in young children with Prader-Willi syndrome: Results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial investigating 3 months of oxytocin.Clinical endocrinology · 2021Trial
- Oxytocin Administration Increases Proactive Control in Men with Overweight or Obesity: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2021Trial
- Oxytocin reduces the functional connectivity between brain regions involved in eating behavior in men with overweight and obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2020Trial
- Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on the Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent Signal in Food Motivation and Cognitive Control Pathways in Overweight and Obese Men.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Oxytocin enhances cognitive control of food craving in women.Human brain mapping · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Neuroendocrine regulation of adipose partitioning in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: the gut-brain-adipose axis.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Review
- Quantification of appetite-regulating hormones in children with hypothalamic and common obesity.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
- Role of Oxytocin in Obesity.Current diabetes reports · 2026Review
- Oxytocin receptor signaling contributes to the mitochondrial integrity and maintain gastric mucosal homeostasis in male mice.iScience · 2026Article
- Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency and Oxytocin Deficiency in the Endocrine Clinic.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Review
- Oxytocin levels do not change around a meal and correlate with reward-driven caloric consumption in adults with obesity.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- The serum oxytocin correlated with serum leptin and body mass index in Japanese adolescents.Clinical pediatric endocrinology : case reports and clinical investigations : official journal of the Japanese Society for Pediatric Endocrinology · 2026Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePreclinical studies indicate that oxytocin is anorexigenic and has beneficial metabolic effects. Oxytocin effects on nutrition and metabolism in humans are not well defined. It was hypothesized that oxytocin would reduce caloric intake and appetite and alter levels of appetite-regulating hormones. Metabolic effects of oxytocin were also explored.
methodsA randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study of single-dose intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) in 25 fasting healthy men was performed. After oxytocin/placebo, subjects selected breakfast from a menu and were given double portions. Caloric content of food consumed was measured. Visual analog scales were used to assess appetite, and blood was drawn for appetite-regulating hormones, insulin, and glucose before and after oxytocin/placebo. Indirect calorimetry assessed resting energy expenditure (REE) and substrate utilization.
resultsOxytocin reduced caloric intake with a preferential effect on fat intake and increased levels of the anorexigenic hormone cholecystokinin without affecting appetite or other appetite-regulating hormones. There was no effect of oxytocin on REE. Oxytocin resulted in a shift from carbohydrate to fat utilization and improved insulin sensitivity.
conclusionsIntranasal oxytocin reduces caloric intake and has beneficial metabolic effects in men without concerning side effects. The efficacy and safety of sustained oxytocin administration in the treatment of obesity warrants investigation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.