The obesity problem in America has led to countless new weight loss strategies from low-calorie diets to drastic surgery.

Now a new device falls somewhere in the middle.

John Lawrence loves food and tends to overeat.  

"I have not been a thin person, I don't think, at any time in my life."

At 51, he's tried to lose weight but diets failed. And he didn't like the idea of surgery to make his stomach smaller.

"It seemed way toO dangerous. It had too many side effects. I've seen people lose then balloon back up."

Then he heard about an experimental technique that didn't seem as drastic. It works by slowing down digestion.

"Hopefully what this will do is encourage the patients to eat fewer calories," says Dr. James Maher, a surgeon at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.

Doctors first implant a device about the size of a pacemaker inside the abdomen. It sends electrical signals to block the VAGUS nerve which normally helps the stomach expand to take in a meal and contract to digest it. 
 
"If we're right about what the VAGUS nerves do, then if you can't accommodate a large meal, you get full more quickly. If your stomach's not emptying as quickly, you don't get hungry again as quickly." 

Patients wear a belt with a coil over the implanted device to turn it on. 
 
"When they take the coil off at night, they're no longer treating themselves and so the nerve completely recovers during that period of time."

It's a double-blind study, so John doesn't know if his device is really on or not. What he does know is that since he's been wearing it, he can't eat as much. 
 
"I like to eat about 500 calories worth of food. I put that on the plate and that's it," says John Lawrence.

In fact, he's lost 40 pounds in the last two months. 
 
Doctor Maher says it will take several years before they'll know if the device works. However, enteromedics, the company that makes it is already working on a completely implantable version.

AUDIENCE INQUIRY:
For information about the trial, log onto http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, then type the trial identification number in the search box: NCT00521079. Information is also available at: http://www.empowerstudy.com, http://www.vcu.edu/lesspainsurgery/obesity/empower/aboutstudy.htm , or by calling (866) 291-9146, Mon.-Thu., 7 AM to 7 PM, or Fri. 7 AM to 6 PM, central time.

For general information on obesity:
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, http://www.niddk.nih.gov
The Obesity Society, http://www.obesity.org
 

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