ReviewNature reviews. Endocrinology2017
The effects of oxytocin on eating behaviour and metabolism in humans.
Review in Nature reviews. Endocrinology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 111 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
111 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 192 citations in OpenAlex.
- A comprehensive analysis of oxytocin: a potential brain-based treatment to regulate obesity.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- The oxytocin system in patients with craniopharyngioma: A systematic review.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Chronic oxytocin administration as a tool for investigation and treatment: A cross-disciplinary systematic review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Reproductive hormone stability with prolonged intranasal oxytocin in adults with obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Arginine-Vasopressin Dynamics in Relation to Food Intake and 8-Week Intranasal Oxytocin Treatment in Adults With Obesity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Trial
- Trial
- 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
- Investigating resting brain perfusion abnormalities and disease target-engagement by intranasal oxytocin in women with bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder and healthy controls.Translational psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Oxytocin reduces the functional connectivity between brain regions involved in eating behavior in men with overweight and obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2020Trial
- Article
- Neuroendocrine regulation of adipose partitioning in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: the gut-brain-adipose axis.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Review
- Peripheral oxytocin administration decreases the food intake and compulsive-like behavior in male rats in an animal model of binge-type eating.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency and Oxytocin Deficiency in the Endocrine Clinic.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Review
- Hypothalamic malate dehydrogenase 2 modulates systemic glucose metabolism through oxytocin-mediated thermogenesis.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Oxytocin levels do not change around a meal and correlate with reward-driven caloric consumption in adults with obesity.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Significance of neuroendocrine systems and the gut-brain axis (GBA) in the regulation of obesity.PeerJ · 2026Review
- Social interdependencies: the deep evolutionary roots of morality and normativity.Biology & philosophy · 2026Article
- Social bonds and health: exploring the impact of social relations on oxytocin and brain-gut communication in shaping obesity.Gut microbes · 2025Article
- Associations of Hair Biomarkers with Height, Weight, and Body Mass Index in Preschool Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
51 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
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Oxytocin, a hypothalamic hormone that is secreted directly into the brain and enters the peripheral circulation through the posterior pituitary gland, regulates a range of physiologic processes, including eating behaviour and metabolism. In rodents and nonhuman primates, chronic oxytocin administration leads to sustained weight reduction by reducing food intake, increasing energy expenditure and inducing lipolysis. Oxytocin might improve glucose homeostasis, independently of its effects on weight. Clinical studies are beginning to translate these important preclinical findings to humans. This Review describes key data linking oxytocin to eating behaviour and metabolism in humans. For example, a single intranasal dose of oxytocin can reduce caloric intake, increase fat oxidation and improve insulin sensitivity in men. Furthermore, a pilot study of 8 weeks of oxytocin treatment in adults with obesity or overweight led to substantial weight loss. Together, these data support further investigation of interventions that target pathways involving oxytocin as potential therapeutics in metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes mellitus. Therapeutic considerations and areas for further research are also discussed.
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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.