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There’s a device that drains food out of your stomach — and the FDA approved it
Replies
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xmichaelyx wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Everyone keeps looking for a simple answer, and there isn't one.
I'd argue that the answer is shocking simple: Eat fewer calories.
But people are looking for a different simple answer because they're unwilling to accept responsibility for their failures.
Yup. But how anyone could think this is simple is beyond me. I mean...I love food. I love eating. I wound up here because of my overeating/obsession with food. But I don't think I could ever love it enough to endure something like this. It's just wrong on so many levels.
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Fixing the wrong problem. For most of us the key to success is mental not physical. Seems to me without learning portion sizes and being mindful of what goes into our bodies then this device would just enable people to have an excuse for eating even more. What level of depression is someone who goes under the knife for this going to feel when they still don't lose weight? Seems like a great way to destroy mental health.3
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That is nasty and lazy. A new FDA approved form of bulimia. Wtf?0
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I think I'd want to see more information in terms of how a person gains access to it. I mean, it says there that they'd go to an outpatient clinic, but then can they just go home, eat some food, and then suck all of the stuff out of their stomach once they're done without even leaving the house?
Bulimics do this today but they damage their throats; this device doesn't make the world worse because that option is already there.This just seems like a really bad idea. I'm sure that if left unsupervised so many people could rob their bodies of the food that they actually require.
People will only be allowed to use this under very close medical supervision. It's designed to fail after a set amount of time and need replacement, to ensure that patients comply with the supervision requirement.0 -
julierockhead wrote: »This is just scary, to me. If you didn't have an eating disorder, I would think this might encourage development of one!
Do you think outsourcing food decisions to a web site and logging every morsel that goes into your mouth could encourage people to develop an eating disorder...?0 -
I.....just don't know how I feel about this...
I can see the potential good I guess, but I can see this doing more harm than good. I truly hope that when people are doing this, they are under heavy supervision from their physicians.0 -
So it's for people who are obese and unable to lose weight by other methods.....so do they use it forever? Because they will obviously gain the weight right back as soon as it's removed if they are unable to control how much they eat. Permanent weight loss requires a lifestyle change, not a diet, and not a tube hanging out of your stomach.1
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NorthCascades wrote: »julierockhead wrote: »This is just scary, to me. If you didn't have an eating disorder, I would think this might encourage development of one!
Do you think outsourcing food decisions to a web site and logging every morsel that goes into your mouth could encourage people to develop an eating disorder...?
I suppose it depends upon how loosely one wants to define disordered eating. Traditional eating disorder? Probably not. Ridiculously obsessive about quantities of food, macro balance, etc., probably. Though, I was already there from the start of my weight loss work. MFP just took my numbers from the notepad to my phone.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »julierockhead wrote: »This is just scary, to me. If you didn't have an eating disorder, I would think this might encourage development of one!
Do you think outsourcing food decisions to a web site and logging every morsel that goes into your mouth could encourage people to develop an eating disorder...?
I suppose it depends upon how loosely one wants to define disordered eating. Traditional eating disorder? Probably not. Ridiculously obsessive about quantities of food, macro balance, etc., probably. Though, I was already there from the start of my weight loss work. MFP just took my numbers from the notepad to my phone.
There are definitely people who develop anorexia by counting calories. "If I lose weight on 1400 calories, I'll lose faster on 1200, and even faster on 1000, and even faster on 800..." Some people develop exercise bulimia.
A food blogger I follow wrote about how in her journey to lose over 100 lbs, she developed an intense fear of eating anything "bad" or where she didn't know the calorie count. She had a meltdown in her favorite restaurant because she didn't know what she could "safely" order. She started seeing a dietitian and a therapist after that. Not a traditional eating disorder, but EDNOS for sure.
The point I think @NorthCascades was making is that any weight loss tool can be abused if not managed properly. It doesn't make it wrong for everyone. As I've said in other threads about this device, I think people developing an eating disorder is a minor concern compared to potential malnutrition and potential dependency from never learning better habits. The device can only be used so many times before you have to back to a doctor for it to be reset, so your doctor will be able to tell if you're abusing it. In theory, people who have BED won't be approved for it (though we know this won't hold true in every case), and since it only empties a specific volume of your stomach contents at each use, you can't eat anything and everything and still lose weight.1 -
I think we debated this a little while ago already.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10409787/fda-approves-weight-loss-stomach-pump-device/p11 -
Disturbing.0
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Also for @Gallowmere1984chocolate_owl wrote: »The point I think @NorthCascades was making is that any weight loss tool can be abused if not managed properly.
Yes, this exactly. We can't judge a tool only on its potential for abuse without also considering its potential to help people when used properly. Remember, this isn't for people who want to lose 5 vanity pounds, this is for morbidly obese people.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Also for @Gallowmere1984chocolate_owl wrote: »The point I think @NorthCascades was making is that any weight loss tool can be abused if not managed properly.
Yes, this exactly. We can't judge a tool only on its potential for abuse without also considering its potential to help people when used properly. Remember, this isn't for people who want to lose 5 vanity pounds, this is for morbidly obese people.
Most definitely. In fact, I'd argue that if we applied such a line of thinking to more drugs and tech advances, we'd probably be much farther along than we are now. Population paranoia leaning toward worst case scenarios has always struck me as curious, to say the least.1 -
I can see other medical problems coming from this device.0
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rainbowbow wrote: »Seemed very much like surgically assisted bulimia along with encouraging people to continue to over-eat.
truly disgusting.
This.
Plus any time you have a port that goes through the skin, the rate of infection for those devices tend to be very high. They also tend to become dislodged easily (this is from experience, my FIL had a feeding tube for years and it would become dislodged even though he was wheelchair bound and so not moving much).
Just seems like this device would have a lot of mental and physical complications.0 -
The very idea of such a device is terrifying. What this means in society is huge. I have so much I want to say here but I don't even know where to begin. So I will just leave it.0
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It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.1 -
It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
Am i the only one who finds it ridiculous that this type of pill/device is even necessary? How priviledged we are to live in this specific society.
In what world do we live in that people would rather not absorb the energy and nutrition they are eating just so they can over consume consistently; meanwhile there are 795 million people without access to enough food and water.
Not only do i find products like this disgusting, i find this mentality disgusting.5 -
I wouldn't say purging is safe. Safer than other forms of purging yes but if you are emptying the stomach you are emptying vital nutrients and will develop deficiencies
Eta: also electrolyte imbalances0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
Am i the only one who finds it ridiculous that this type of pill/device is even necessary? How priviledged we are to live in this specific society.
In what world do we live in that people would rather not absorb the energy and nutrition they are eating just so they can over consume consistently; meanwhile there are 795 million people without access to enough food and water.
Not only do i find products like this disgusting, i find this mentality disgusting.
That's a fair point but it's a moral position (which many people will sympathise with I suspect.)
It's not a solution to the suffering caused by obesity and it is clear to me that many obese people do suffer.1 -
rainbowbow wrote: »It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
Am i the only one who finds it ridiculous that this type of pill/device is even necessary? How priviledged we are to live in this specific society.
In what world do we live in that people would rather not absorb the energy and nutrition they are eating just so they can over consume consistently; meanwhile there are 795 million people without access to enough food and water.
Not only do i find products like this disgusting, i find this mentality disgusting.
That's a fair point but it's a moral position (which many people will sympathise with I suspect.)
It's not a solution to the suffering caused by obesity and it is clear to me that many obese people do suffer.
I'll not deny that they suffer, but it's probably not best for me to comment further on the subject.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »
I'll not deny that they suffer, but it's probably not best for me to comment further on the subject.
I can respect that but I think as a society thrashing these issues out (in a non abusive way of course) is useful.
Of course, there may be some other benefits of this kind of research. If we can figure out how to block absorption using say a pill we may be able to figure out a cost effective way of maximising it as well. This could help with survival rates from starvation in developing countries.
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rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
Am i the only one who finds it ridiculous that this type of pill/device is even necessary? How priviledged we are to live in this specific society.
In what world do we live in that people would rather not absorb the energy and nutrition they are eating just so they can over consume consistently; meanwhile there are 795 million people without access to enough food and water.
Not only do i find products like this disgusting, i find this mentality disgusting.
That's a fair point but it's a moral position (which many people will sympathise with I suspect.)
It's not a solution to the suffering caused by obesity and it is clear to me that many obese people do suffer.
I'll not deny that they suffer, but it's probably not best for me to comment further on the subject.
Awww, c'mon. It can't possibly be worse than anything I would normally say.
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I would say much of the obesity that causes such suffering is self inflicted. I feel that distinction needs to be made.rainbowbow wrote: »It's better than being dead or having a severely restricted life I suppose.
If someone created a pill which effectively blocked the absorption of a significant proportion of calories from eating then it would be hailed as a triumph and the creator would be richer than god. And possibly even Mark Zuckerberg.
This contraption does a similar thing but I guess it sounds rather gross in practice which is what freaks people out.
I think the obesity situation is so dire that I will stay open minded to any safe solution even if it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
Am i the only one who finds it ridiculous that this type of pill/device is even necessary? How priviledged we are to live in this specific society.
In what world do we live in that people would rather not absorb the energy and nutrition they are eating just so they can over consume consistently; meanwhile there are 795 million people without access to enough food and water.
Not only do i find products like this disgusting, i find this mentality disgusting.
That's a fair point but it's a moral position (which many people will sympathise with I suspect.)
It's not a solution to the suffering caused by obesity and it is clear to me that many obese people do suffer.
Having said that, I'm sure the topic has had more than a few go-arounds at mfp.
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