A new way to lose weight has been discovered through a weight-loss tool that uses magnets. The device is installed in the person's mouth and stops them from opening it wide enough to eat solid food.
The tool was developed by medical professionals from the University of Otago in New Zealand and scientists from Leeds in the U.K. to tackle obesity. The device is easily fitted by dentists and uses magnetic components along with locking bolts. When installed, ts users can only open their mouths 2mm wide.
Professor Paul Brunton from the University of Otago says the tool is “a non-invasive, reversible, economical and attractive alternative to surgical procedures.”
The tool should not be expected to be a quick or even long-term tool.
“To clarify, the intention of the device is not intended as a quick or long-term weight-loss tool. Rather, it is aimed to assist people who need to undergo surgery and who cannot have the surgery until they have lost weight,” the University of Otago said in a statement.
Online, some people are comparing the tool to that of a medieval torture device and even saying it looks like it came out of a “Saw” movie.
The point of the device, the DentalSlim Diet Control, is for its wearer to be forced onto a liquid diet as they can not open their mouths wide enough to eat. The DentalSlim was initially trialed on seven otherwise healthy, obese women from Dunedin in New Zealand for two weeks. They were given a low-calorie liquid diet.
It was reported that the women lost a mean amount of 6.36kg or 14lbs. This was about 5.1% of their body weight.
Participants complained that the device made it uncomfortable to speak and that they felt tense while using it.
The rules were not totally followed by all the participants either as one of them melted chocolate to consume it. This was why some participants did not lose as much weight; Brunton has called it an issue with “compliance.”
Dr. Jonathan Bodansky of Leeds and Dr. Richard Hall of RMH consultancy in Leeds were some of the researchers who worked on the tool.
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