SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Weight loss is an increasingly popular topic. With so many celebrities and plenty of people inquiring about injections to drop pounds, MIT researchers have developed something that could the way we look at weight loss.
"As we're pushing the needle forward with obesity management, there are lots of different things that are being tried. I was very fascinated, as MIT, my alma mater, they put out a drug that actually is a vibrating stomach pill," said ABC10 Health Expert Dr. Payal Kohli.
A person takes the pill about 20 minutes before eating and it triggers your stretch receptors. Those send a signal to the brain saying the body is full.
"What they saw in animal models was that it actually triggered the satiety signals and the animals ate 40% less," Kohli said. "Once the the pill kind of fires for 30 minutes, you're supposed to pass it. That's how it's currently been designed. So, it comes out in your stool four or five days later, but now the MIT researchers are actually looking at the next generation of this type of a medication."
The researchers are looking at a remote-controlled option that can turn the receptors on and off. It would stay in the stomach longer. Kohli says this hasn't been tested in humans and its going to take a lot more detail before it can be. She also says it's a fascinating way at understanding the body and how we can use mechanisms to change an outcome.
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