Weight Loss

Sermorelin for Weight Loss: The Science Behind It

Growth hormone increases lean body mass and decreases fat mass, leading many people to inject growth hormone as a weight loss solution. While there is science to back up the premise that restoring growth hormone levels will change body composition and promote weight loss, injecting human growth hormone as an off-label use of a prescription medication is prohibited in the U.S.¹

Sermorelin is a peptide that acts as a growth hormone secretagogue. It stimulates the release of natural growth hormone from your pituitary gland without bypassing your body’s internal feedback mechanisms that protect it from the effects of excessive growth hormone release.

To get the full benefits of Sermorelin for weight loss will take four to six months, but when combined with a nutritious diet and a daily exercise plan and if you are at an age when your natural growth hormone levels have declined, you are likely to see the weight loss results you are looking for.

Growth hormone increases lean body mass, reduces fat mass, may increase exercise tolerance and VO2 max, may enhance muscle strength, and improves linear growth.²Restoring growth hormone levels with Sermorelin is expected to do the same.

How does Sermorelin cause weight loss?

Growth hormone is produced by specialized cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The pituitary gland releases growth hormone in pulses, with the largest pulses before entering deep sleep. The amplitude of these pulses decreases steadily after age 30.³

Exercise, fasting, illness, and trauma can trigger more growth hormone release, as can growth hormone-releasing hormones (GHRH), ghrelin, stress, amino acids, and low blood sugar. Somatostatin, free fatty acids, and increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) increase growth hormone release.⁴

In one study, participants who took GHRH injections daily, with or without exercise, saw their IGF-1 levels increase by 35%.⁵Taking growth hormone-releasing hormones regularly has been found to restore growth hormone and IGF-1 levels in adults.⁶

Factors that impact GH levels:⁷

Weight: Increased body fat suppresses mean GH concentrations. It also decreases pulsatile GH secretion and causes a shorter GH half-life. People with obesity have a decreased response to GHRH as well. Weight loss increases GH release.
Age: Growth hormone secretion peaks during late puberty and begins to decline after age 30 at a rate of 14% per decade.⁸ IGF-1 levels also decrease.
Exercise: Physical activity increases growth hormone release. Increasing age decreases the effect of exercise on growth hormone release. Older adults and people with obesity need more intense exercise to achieve the same level of growth hormone release as younger adults achieve.

Growth hormone has a key role in regulating body composition. It increases fat metabolism, glucose, and amino acid uptake and stimulates protein synthesis, reducing fat mass and increasing lean body mass.⁷

What does the research suggest about Sermorelin for weight loss?

Growth hormone is an anabolic, lipolytic, and hyperglycemic hormone. It stimulates fat breakdown and increases glucose levels to promote tissue building. Increased fat mass can impair GH release, but research suggests that growth hormone-releasing peptides, such as sermorelin, can increase GH release.²

In a 26-week study, men and women aged 65 to 88 received GH, sex steroids, neither, or both to learn more about the effects of GH and sex steroids on body composition and weight.⁹

Lean body mass in women

Increased by 0.4 kg in the placebo group.
Increased by 1.2 kg in the sex steroid hormone replacement group.
Increased by 1.0 kg in the GH group.
Increased by 2.1 kg in the GH and sex steroid hormone replacement group.

Lean body mass in men

Increased by 0.1 kg in the placebo group.
Increased by 1.4 kg in the sex steroid hormone replacement group.
Increased by 3.1 kg in the GH group.
Increased by 4.3 kg in the GH and sex steroid hormone replacement group.

In this study, women and men in the GH or the GH plus sex steroid groups had a significant decrease in fat mass.⁹

How much weight can you lose on Sermorelin?

In a study enrolling 52 men over the age of 69 to receive either GH three times weekly for six months or a placebo, fat mass decreased by an average of 13.1% in the growth hormone group and 0.3% in the placebo group.¹⁰

Weight loss will vary from person to person based on your percent body fat, current GH-releasing pattern throughout the day and night, lifestyle, dietary and exercise habits, and treatment length.

Does Sermorelin suppress appetite?

No, sermorelin is not an appetite suppressor. In fact, some people report increased hunger after taking Sermorelin. Taking it at night right before sleep can help negate this effect.

Does Sermorelin burn body fat?

Sermorelin increases GH levels, which increases fat breakdown and blood sugar levels. Your body uses these nutrients to build protein. If you want to try Sermorelin for weight loss, plan to give it four to six months to see its full effects. In addition to weight loss, sermorelin has many other potential benefits for men and women.

Invigor Medical carries a wide range of weight loss treatment options. Talk to an Invigor Medical treatment specialist to learn more about the best treatment plans to help you meet your weight loss goals.

Learn more about buying Sermorelin injections online

Disclaimer

While we strive to always provide accurate, current, and safe advice in all of our articles and guides, it’s important to stress that they are no substitute for medical advice from a doctor or healthcare provider. You should always consult a practicing professional who can diagnose your specific case. The content we’ve included in this guide is merely meant to be informational and does not constitute medical advice.

References

Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency? Clin Interv Aging. 2006;1(4):307-8. doi: 10.2147/ciia.2006.1.4.307. PMID: 18046908; PMCID: PMC2699646.
Sigalos JT, Pastuszak AW. The Safety and Efficacy of Growth Hormone Secretagogues. Sex Med Rev. 2018 Jan;6(1):45-53. doi: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Apr 8. PMID: 28400207; PMCID: PMC5632578.
Giustina A, Veldhuis JD. Pathophysiology of the neuroregulation of growth hormone secretion in experimental animals and the human. Endocr Rev. 1998 Dec;19(6):717-97. doi: 10.1210/edrv.19.6.0353. PMID: 9861545.
Garcia JM, Merriam GR, Kargi AY. Growth Hormone in Aging. [Updated 2019 Oct 7]. In: Feingold KR, Anawalt B, Blackman MR, et al., editors. Endotext [Internet]. South Dartmouth (MA): MDText.com, Inc.; 2000-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK279163/
Macario, E., 2008. Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone and GH secretagogues in normal aging: Fountain of Youth or Pool of Tantalus?. Clinical Interventions in Aging Volume 3, 121–129.. https://doi.org/10.2147/cia.s3247
Corpas E, Harman SM, Piñeyro MA, Roberson R, Blackman MR. Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone-(1-29) twice daily reverses the decreased GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in old men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992 Aug;75(2):530-5. doi: 10.1210/jcem.75.2.1379256. PMID: 1379256.
Sonksen, P., Holt, R., Erotokritou-Mulligan, I., 2011. Growth hormone doping: a review. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine 99.. https://doi.org/10.2147/oajsm.s11626
Iranmanesh A, Lizarralde G, Veldhuis JD. Age and relative adiposity are specific negative determinants of the frequency and amplitude of growth hormone (GH) secretory bursts and the half-life of endogenous GH in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1991;73:1081–1088.
Blackman MR, Sorkin JD, Münzer T, Bellantoni MF, Busby-Whitehead J, Stevens TE, Jayme J, O’Connor KG, Christmas C, Tobin JD, Stewart KJ, Cottrell E, St Clair C, Pabst KM, Harman SM. Growth hormone and sex steroid administration in healthy aged women and men: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002 Nov 13;288(18):2282-92. doi: 10.1001/jama.288.18.2282. PMID: 12425705.
Papadakis MA, Grady D, Black D, Tierney MJ, Gooding GA, Schambelan M, Grunfeld C. Growth hormone replacement in healthy older men improves body composition but not functional ability. Ann Intern Med. 1996 Apr 15;124(8):708-16. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-124-8-199604150-00002. PMID: 8633830.