Significant satiety effect of bombesin in lean but not in obese subjects

The aim of this work was to determine whether infusion of bombesin inhibits intake of a carbohydrate-rich meal in lean and obese women. A double blind study was carried out using bombesin or saline infusion. The subjects were nine lean and nine obese women of the same age. Food intake and hunger feelings were measured. During infusion of bombesin, the amount of food eaten by the lean individuals (294 +/- 55 g) was significantly less than during infusion of saline (467 +/- 69 g, P < 0.01). However, bombesin induced no significant feeding suppression in the obese women when compared to saline (431 +/- 60 vs 499 +/- 99 g). Subjective hunger feelings were significantly affected by bombesin infusion in the lean subjects only. It was concluded that bombesin infusion inhibits food intake and increases satiety in lean women, whereas obese women are less sensitive to these bombesin-induced satiety effects.