Viewed from a clinical perspective, it is difficult to generate enthusiasm for the likelihood of finding a peptide that could be helpful in the treatment of obesity. A deeper understanding of obesity, as will emerge from molecular biology, is more likely to point the way to a useful peptide than further evaluations of the clinical dilemmas posed by obesity. However, a clinical perspective may be useful in pointing the way to a system that needs to be examined by molecular biology and also to inject caution in the evaluation of early findings when peptides are used in treatment.