New treatments could be in the pipeline to give obese people a full feeling after eating just a small meal, researchers said.
Experts have identified two cell proteins that relax the stomach and help it expand to accommodate large meals.
By targeting the protein receptors, they hope to be able to develop drugs which make people feel "full up" quicker.
Dr Brian King, senior lecturer at University College London (UCL), said the targeted therapies - in the form of a pill - were a long way off but the research was an exciting step.
"This offers a new way forward for people who are looking to find an effective way for weight control," he said.
"This is a growing problem and so people need as much help as possible."
Dr King and his colleague, Dr Andrea Townsend-Nicholson, published their latest research in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
The study explores the basis of relaxation of the gut at a molecular level.
The authors identify two protein receptors - P2Y1 and P2Y11 - involved in fast and slow relaxation of the gut.
The study was carried out on guinea pigs, but the proteins are also present in the human gut. Future research will look at the human form of the P2Y11 protein receptor.
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