New research is currently suggesting that one method for combating the obesity crisis is to utilize food capsules capable of tricking the body into believing that it is full. Previous studies on the matter have found that one of the key differences between people who are obese and those who are lean is that overweight people tend to ignore signals from their small intestine signaling to the brain that the stomach is full.
Scientists working in London have determined that you can target the lower intestine using special types of food supplements capable of tricking the digestive system into beginning to behave as if the person had experienced a gastric bypass surgery. Researchers are hoping that this new treatment, which comes in the form of a simple capsule, can take the place of expensive and potentially risky weight loss operations, reducing the growing levels of type-2 diabetes and obesity which are currently spiraling out of control.
The findings were recently published in GUT, which is an international journal for hepatology and gastroenterology. They show that these supplements may be able to create the exact same effects as weight loss surgeries without the same costs and potential complications. Scientists who are behind this breakthrough are saying that they are very hopeful these capsules will be widely available in the National Health Service in Britain within a period of five years. The National Health Service is currently thinking about lowering the threshold for weight loss operations so that people with body mass indexes (BMIs) of 30 or higher would be considered for these operations if they had received a diabetes diagnosis within the past ten years.
Gastric bypass surgery is the most common weight loss operation, and involves essentially re-plumbing the gastrointestinal system so that food moves straight through more quickly, signaling the brain that the body has become full more quickly than in a traditional gastrointestinal system. Researchers are seeking to create this same effect without costly and potentially harmful weight loss operations, since the need for weight loss help is growing.
Researchers believe that these special supplements could target the body’s lower bowel, intervene in the pathway for amino acids, fatty acids and proteins going toward the lower bowl. By targeting the gut using food supplements which are naturally occurring, these food capsules may be able to signal to the brain that the body is full so that things move through more fluidly, reducing obesity and weight gain.
In the United Kingdom alone, there has been a marked increase in rates of obesity. For example, back in 1993 15 percent of the population was obese, and by 2011 this number had risen to 25 percent. Weight loss surgeries are also on the rise, with a 30-fold increase just in the past ten years alone. On the NHS annually there are more than 8,000 weight loss operations every year, and many additional surgeries are performed in private clinics as well, indicating a growing trend for which alternatives are essentially.