This vibrating diet pill may trick the stomach into feeling full

People trying to lose weight embark on grueling diets, undergo procedures to shrink their stomachs, or pony up for expensive new drugs like Ozempic . Now, researchers have revealed a gentler and potentially cheaper option: a vibrating pill that stimulates nerve endings in the stomach to tell the brain it’s time to stop eating. The capsule—reported today in Science Advances — slashes food intake in pigs without causing obvious side effects . Scientists now hope to develop it into an obesity treatment for humans. “It’s a credible and ingenious approach,” says neurobiologist Guillaume de Lartigue of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, who wasn’t connected to the study. “The data look very convincing.” Still, other experts question whether the pill can be turned into a practical weight loss therapy. The stomach stretches when we eat a meal, stimulating nerve endings in the organ’s wall that send messages to the brain. These signals make us feel full, encouraging us to push away from the dinner table. Researchers have tried to come up with obesity treatments that harness this effect. One approach involves inserting a fluid-filled balloon into the stomach that produces a sense of fullness. Another option is an implanted device that stimulates the vagus nerve, which transmits impulses from the stomach to the brain. However, the balloons can become less effective over time as the stomach becomes inured to consta...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research