The device is a vibrating, ingestible capsule.
Obesity, defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation, has become a defining health challenge of the present era. This burden of fat significantly increases the risk of numerous chronic diseases, including cardiovascular issues, metabolic disorders, malignancies, and musculoskeletal problems. This also stands as the foremost cause of mortality globally.
However, researchers have created a prototype capsule that could potentially help individuals struggling with obesity.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers have created a capsule that vibrates in your tummy, mimicking fullness and potentially curbing cravings by 40%. This "high-tech tummy trick" could help us eat less and shrink our waistlines, one buzz at a time.
As per a release by the institute, in animals who were given this pill 20 minutes before eating, the researchers found that this treatment not only stimulated the release of hormones that signal satiety but also reduced the animals' food intake by about 40 percent. Scientists have much more to learn about the mechanisms that influence human body weight, but if further research suggests this technology could be safely used in humans, such a pill might offer a minimally invasive way to treat obesity, the researchers say.
“For somebody who wants to lose weight or control their appetite, it could be taken before each meal,” says Shriya Srinivasan, PhD '20, a former MIT graduate student and postdoc who is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University.
“This could be really interesting in that it would provide an option that could minimize the side effects that we see with the other pharmacological treatments out there.”