Belly balloon device approved by FDA for weight loss

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a temporary, implanted balloon device to help the obese people reduce weight. The Obama government has also tried to do its part in the past by advice people to eat more healthy food but apparently, the idea of being advised by the government on what to eat and what not to, angered the people. The device has been developed by Reshape Medical Inc. in California and is not recommended for people who’ve had weight reducing surgeries in the past or gastrointestinal surgeries. The FDA made it clear that it was also not the right product for people who have been diagnosed with inflammatory intestinal or bowel diseases, large hiatal hernia symptoms of delayed gastric emptying oractive H. Pylori infection, pregnant women or people who use aspirin on a daily basis. The device has been named reshaped Integrated Dual Balloon and it works by taking up space in the stomach and causing a feeling of being full.

The device is placed through the mouth in the stomach using an endoscope. This procedure takes place in less than 30 minutes and is performed while the patient is under mild sedation.Once it is placed, the device is inflated with a sterile solution and it does not affect the natural anatomy of the stomach. Following this procedure the patients are given an exercise plan and a medically supervised diet plan that they have to follow.

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FDA has said that the people would typically use the device for less than six months. The growing numbers of obese population in US is a matter of concern as recently a study had suggested that the probability of obese people retuning back to shape is very low. The study revealed that the obese participants were able to reduce up to 5 percent of their body weight but could not keep it constant. Dr. William Maisel, the acting director of Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA’s Centre for devices and Radiological Health said,” This new balloon device provides doctors and patients with a new non-surgical option that can be quickly implanted, is non-permanent, and can be easily removed.”

The ReShape Dual Balloon was approved on the basis of a study that included 326 obese people, aged between 22 and 60 and having at least one obesity-related health condition. 187 participants who used the device lost an average of 14 pounds or 6.8 per cent of their total body weight.