New Device for Non-Surgical Weight Loss Treatment

Imagine a weight loss treatment that requires no surgery… then imagine that it’s available on an outpatient basis. Fantasy, right? Maybe not — if the new Full Sense Device lives up to its promises.

Invented by Dr. Randal Baker, a weight loss surgeon in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Full Sense Device is similar to the stents that surgeons use to open up clogged arteries. The mechanism is threaded through the patient’s mouth into the upper stomach using an endoscope, then expanded to full size.

By pressing against the bottom of the esophagus and the top of the stomach, the device creates a feeling of satiety – but unlike other weight loss surgery treatments that affect how much food a patient can eat, the Full Sense Device essentially tricks the brain into thinking the stomach is full.

Tests outside of the United States so far have yielded positive results. The first three patients to receive the implants lost 18 percent of their excess body weight in less than three weeks, with no complications so far.

It may be several years before the Full Sense device is available in the U.S., but if it is approved by the FDA, it could open a new era of safe, non-surgical weight loss treatment –and offer hope to the millions of Americans who need treatment for obesity but can’t afford the cost or and possible complications of traditional weight loss surgery. Add to that the fact that Full Sense is completely reversible, requires no incision, and could be implanted on an outpatient basis, and the future of this new technology looks bright.

The Food and Drug Administration has finally given its stamp of approval to Rebiana A –- a zero calorie, zero-carb sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant –- deeming it safe for use in food and drinks in the U.S.

The FDA’s blessing is especially heartening for people with weight-related health concerns, and for folks who just want to steer clear of the chemicals used in artificial sweeteners.

Stevia extract is all-natural, it can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar; it has no carbohydrates and no calories; and it has a negligible effect on blood glucose – which is a plus for diabetics.
It also has a pleasing texture and is inexpensive to produce because – as Cargill’s marketing campaign notes – it comes from a leaf, not a lab.

Interestingly, America is behind the curve when it comes to the extract Rebiana A – also known as Reb A. It’s been available in Japan since the early 1970s, and stevia is widely used as a traditional herb in Latin America.

Here in the States, Cargill began offering Reb A as a powdered tabletop sweetener under the name Truvia last fall, and Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidiary of Merisant, came out with its own version, called PureVia, around the same time.

On the heels of the FDA’s approval, Coca-Cola will soon release its first Truvia-sweetened beverages, Sprite Green and Odwalla diet juice drinks, while PepsiCo plans to use PureVia to sweeten several flavors of SoBe Lifewater.