A protein pill could help weight loss and improve sleep habits in obese adults, affirming the long-standing theory that sleep and metabolism are connected, according to a new study conducted at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

"The findings are very exciting — Pep19 not only improved sleep but also reduced abdominal fat,” said Dr. Prachi Singh, associate professor and director of the Sleep and Cardiometabolic Health Lab at Pennington Biomedical.

The molecule, Pep19, is a synthetic version of a very small piece of protein naturally found in human cells. Pep19 has anti-obesity effects, improving blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure in animal models in previous studies.

In this study out of Pennington, Singh and Dr. Frank Greenway found that five milligrams of P

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