Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland have conducted a study on 10 healthy pigs, a species with anatomy that closely resembles our own, and have found that a minimally-invasive surgery can reduce the levels of ghrelin produced by the body. Ghrelin is a hormone which regulates appetite, and its reduction can give the same results as bariatric surgery, only with fewer changes to the body.

Obesity is a huge problem in the U.S., with almost two thirds of Americans being either overweight or obese. 117,000 U.S. citizens have opted last year for bariatric surgery, a procedure whereby part of the stomach is removed, reducing the amount of food ingested, and the time the body has to assimilate it.

Now, researchers have found by this study that if they use a chemical to destroy a blood vessel that irrigates a certain gland in the lower part of the stomach, which is called the fundus, the gland (which is responsible for the production of 90% of the body’s ghrelin) will be unable to produce enough of the hormone, and appetite will be naturally reduced. Researchers have recorded an 80% drop in the blood ghrelin levels of those pigs to which the procedure had been applied.

This minimally-invasive surgery, which is easily and safely performed, and with much less drastic change to the body than bariatric surgery, offers a better alternative to those suffering from obesity and who have exhausted other methods such as diets, but who do not want to undergo major surgery which is also very expensive, costing around $25,000.