The “torture” method invented by scientists to fight obesity

New Zealand researchers have created a slimming device What are you using magnets to hold the patient’s jaw, and see it as a new tool against obesity, despite reviews comparing it to a medieval torture device.

Innovation, “a pioneer in the world”, consists of a dentist places magnets and locking pins on the patient’s upper and lower molars, allowing the jaws to only open two millimeters.

Senior researcher Paul Brunton, from the College of Health Sciences at the University of Otago, said that this restricted the user to a liquid diet without restricting breathing or speaking. “It is a non-invasive, reversible, inexpensive and attractive alternative to surgical procedures,” he said. “There are no adverse consequences with this device,” he added.

The researchers added that they had “developed the world’s first weight loss device to help fight the global obesity epidemic.”

In an article published this month in the magazine British dental, point out that “seven women lost an average of 6.36 pounds each during a two-week trial with the device,” called DentalSlim Diet Control.

Patients initially felt some discomfort, but generally rated the device as “tolerable”.

Unlike jawbones, which were a popular way of restricting people to liquid diets in the 1980s, DentalSlim has an emergency release in case the patient vomits or has a panic attack.

During the two-week trial, no patient resorted to rescue, although one woman admitted to cheating on the liquid diet by melting chocolate.

The invention generated a strong response on social networks, with many users accuse researchers of embarrassing obese people and questioning the ethics of the trial.

One of the critics called it “repulsive and dehumanized“While another said there was a risk of unhealthy eating habits.

“Maybe instead of developing torture devices, they could investigate how the medical profession consistently fails based on the outdated and inappropriate BMI scale. (body mass index), ”one user posted.

Other comments have compared it to a “gastrointestinal gulag”.

“My God, I thought medicine left behind this kind of torture device,” said one indignant person.

“Delete that. Delete the investigative team. It wipes out everything,” added molecular biologist Raven Baxter.

Additionally, some reviews have criticized the system for preventing good oral hygiene from brushing and flossing.

The researchers note in their article that the trial was approved by an ethics committee and was conducted according to international guidelines.

(With information from AFP)

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