Swallowable gastric balloon could help with weight loss

Conclusion This research investigated whether treatment with a swallowable gastric balloon is a safe and effective option to help obese people lose weight. Overall, the study found the gastric balloon led to weight loss when used alongside a low calorie diet, with a mean weight loss of 15.2kg by the end of the 16-week treatment period. However, the rate of weight loss declined after 12 weeks of treatment, before going up again in the last month with the introduction of a very low calorie diet. This is an interesting piece of research, but it has a number of limitations. This is a very small study, and the findings would have to be observed on a large scale before it can be decided whether this swallowable gastric balloon is a safe and cost-effective option compared with other gastric balloon procedures. The study only looks at the effects of the gastric balloon after 16 weeks of treatment. The effects of the gastric balloon for long-term weight loss would have to be studied before it's decided whether this could be a sustainable weight loss treatment. Because the study has only been presented as a poster at a conference, only limited information on the findings is currently available. A full research paper would provide more information on the methods and limitations of the study.  Dr Simon Cork, Research Fellow at the Department of Investigative Medicine at Imperial College London, commented: "This is an interesting study with interesting outcomes for clini...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Obesity Source Type: news