Balloon Weight Loss Pills Are In, Experts Reveal

According to some British researchers, there’s a new pill that somewhat does the stomach-restricting result of weight loss surgery. It helps a lot of patients especially in losing pounds even in its early trials. The pills name is Obalon balloon; it’s a capsule that contains a balloon. When a person swallows the said pill, surgeons then inflate the balloon inside which makes them feel full and in turn eat less. We have to note though that the device isn’t permanent and should be removed after three months.

“This balloon will act to educate them about portion size and retrain their brain and their mindset a little,” says Dr. Sally Norton, a bariatric surgeon from Spire Hospital in Bristol. The said Hospital offers the procedure.

The capsule is usually attached to a tube that can be inflated. The moment this capsule enters the stomach, the balloon is then released. Now, a surgeon can use simple X-rays to find where the said balloon is located and then it can be inflated with gas through the tube. Right after, the doctor can pull the tube out from the patient’s mouth which leaves the balloon floating inside the stomach.

A patient can take up to three balloons on a 12-week period. The placement also depends on the patient’s weight loss progress and fullness. The effect is all the same, making the patient feel full. The makers of the pill say that people with over weight problems can lose up to 20 pounds in just a matter of three months.

However, this treatment isn’t approved (yet) in the United States by FDA and it’s also not covered in UK’s National Health Service. Patients can pay around $3, 300 for the treatment. If he wants a double-balloon procedure, the price can raise up to $5, 000.

However, most experts don’t trust this particular treatment as a main treatment for obesity. It’s because the balloons are to be deflated and eventually removed after 12 weeks. “When they take the balloons out, what happens is the stomach hasn’t shrunk,” says Tim Bean, a UK based fitness expert. “So you’re left with the same size stomach, or possibly even bigger than there was beforehand.”

“Just like any forms of weight loss surgeries, this new development can’t be an all-out solution for weight loss problems,” says a Toronto personal trainer, Eszter Barsanics (http://bootcampgta.com). “There has to be a personal commitment and effort on a person which in the end, the results will be much more acceptable.”

There are a lot of medical options for weight loss from exercises to surgeries. More of these are done so we just have to wait for more.