Weight loss might have just been made easier with a vibrating capsule that you swallow, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard University examined new, noninvasive ways to aid weight loss.
Nearly 42 percent of American adults are classified as obese, according to the American Medical Association, leading to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers. Currently, if diet and exercise are unsuccessful in treating obesity, drugs or sometimes bariatric surgery are considered. However the drugs come with side effects, and the surgery requires drastic lifestyle changes.
In the paper published in Science Advances, the researchers studied the capsule's effects on pigs. They found that when the animals were given a vibrating electronic capsule before meals, they consumed less food overall and had slower weight gain as a result.
The oral capsule works by activating the receptors in the stomach that are triggered when we eat. It then tells the brain to digest the food, which in turn, simulates the feeling of being full.
"The metabolic responses triggered by the ingestible capsule have the potential to benefit people struggling with obesity. By simulating fullness, this capsule could facilitate weight loss and better glycemic control," Dave Rampulla, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering's Division of Discovery Science and Technology, said in a statement.
Scientists already knew that external vibrations on muscle created a sensation of movement. However, before now, they did not know whether it would work on the stomach in a way that would aid weight loss.
"We wanted to explore whether we could use the body's own sensory feedback mechanisms to create a sense of fullness in the stomach. Our proof-of-concept study examined whether vibrations would induce and stimulate stretch receptors in the stomach, enabling the stomach to distend and send signals to the brain that create an illusory sense of fullness," lead author Shriya Srinivasan, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University, said in a statement.
Their vibrating capsule contained a battery and a membrane that caused it to dissolve inside the stomach. The researchers used a pig specifically because the animals have a similar stomach structure to humans.
Researchers conducted an experiment to see how vibrating capsules affected pigs' appetite and food intake.
They monitored four pigs for two weeks with the capsules and two weeks without. The capsules were activated for 30 minutes before meals, and results showed the pigs ate 40 percent less food when using the capsules.
The pigs with the capsules also gained weight more slowly than those without, although exact weight differences weren't detailed. Another part of the study involved testing the capsules on fasting pigs to see hormone changes.
The treated pigs had lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, indicating reduced appetite and potential for weight loss. No safety issues were found with the capsules, which took four to five days to pass through the pigs' digestive systems.
Although this method will not be ready to give to humans just yet, it is a promising development.
"Following further safety validations, clinical translation could facilitate a paradigm shift in potential therapeutic options for obesity and other diseases affected by late stomach fullness, which leads to excessive overeating and subsequent metabolic, cardiac, and endocrine conditions," senior study author Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham Women's Hospital said in a statement.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about obesity? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
