Patent ID: 7423066

Claim:
A method of reducing body weight in a mammal in need thereof, said method comprising administering to said mammal a fatty acid alkanolamide in an effective amount to reduce body weight in said mammal, wherein the fatty acid alkanolamide is a compound of the formula: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein n is an integer from 1 to 5; a and b are each an integer wherein the sum of a and b is from 0 to 4; and R 1 is hydrogen and R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, unsubstituted (C 1 -C 6 ) alkyl, and unsubstituted (C 2 -C 6 ) acyl, and wherein optionally up to four hydrogen atoms of the fatty acid portion and alkanolamide portion of the formula are substituted by methyl or a double bond joining adjacent carbons of the formula, and additionally the bond between carbons c and d may be unsaturated or saturated.