Forget diet and exercise — weight loss could soon be as simple as chewing some gum.

Scientists at Syracuse University are developing a gum that will make chewers feel full, leading them to consume less kilojoules and ultimately slim down.

A team of researchers led by chemist Robert Doyle have discovered that the hormone that makes people feel 'full' after eating can be delivered into the body orally.

In pictures: How to lose kilos without noticing

Doyle's study — published in an upcoming issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Medicinal Chemistry — centres around the hormone PYY, which regulates appetite.

The human body releases PYY into the bloodstream when people eat or exercise, leading to a feeling of being full. Typically, obese people have far lower levels of PYY in their bloodstream, leading them to consume more kilojoules because they don't feel satisfied.

Previous studies have identified PYY's role in supressing appetite, but have been unable to deliver the hormone into the bloodstream because it is destroyed by the body's digestive system.

"PYY is an appetite-suppressing hormone," Doyle says. "But, when taken orally, the hormone is destroyed in the stomach and that which isn't destroyed has difficulty crossing into the bloodstream through the intestines."

Doyle and his team have overcome this problem using his patent-pending Vitamin B12 system, which is used to deliver insulin orally instead of intra-venously. The system works by binding insulin to Vitamin B12, a substance that passes through the digestive system and into the blood with ease, carrying less-hardy substances with it.

Early trials have shown that PYY taken orally can also reach the bloodstream in this way, effectively being 'smuggled' into the blood by the B12.

"Phase one of this study was to show that we could deliver a clinically relevant amount of PYY into the bloodstream," Doyle says. "We did that, and we are very excited by the results."

Doyle's team is now trying to find a way to insert the modified B12-PYY into chewing gum or oral tablets to help people lose weight.

In pictures: Gym habits that are holding you back

"If we are successful, PYY-laced gum would be a natural way to help people lose weight," he says. "They could eat a balanced meal, then chew a stick of gum.

"The PYY supplement would begin to kick in about three to four hours later, decreasing their appetite as they approach their next meal."

Scientists from Perth's Murdoch University also collaborated in the study.

Your say: Would you buy weight loss gum?

Video: Do diet shakes really work?