According to the BBC, the researchers said there have been suggestions that blocking the body’s response to the hormone could be a possible weight-loss treatment. This new study however, found that it may also produce “unintended effects on mood”. The researchers are quoted in the article as saying that although signs of depression and anxiety decrease as ghrelin levels increase, “an unfortunate side effect…is increased food intake and body weight”. The researchers now want to look at the antidepressant effect of ghrelin in conditions such as anorexia.