Popping Pills for Weight Loss (and other unhealthy ideas)

Brace yourselves. There is a new pill on the market called Vysera CLS that was recently approved by the FDA. But given the FDA’s history for allowing harmful products to be introduced to the American people, we should move with certain caution. Once again, a pill is being touted as the “miracle pill,” the pill that can transform a body in 30-days! In a way that imitates a gastric bypass, the pill reportedly reduces the stomach. 

Here’s how: The pill dissolves in the stomach cavity, leaving a balloon which can be will with fluid in an outpatient procedure. Enlarged to the size of a grapefruit, there is little room for food and patients reportedly felt full, thus the weight loss. After six months, the balloon is deflated and removed through the mouth.

Pros

• ReShape, the company of the miracle pill, released amazing results in which subjects lost up to 25% of their body weight. Enthusiastic early reports backed by the British Journal of Nutrition and Obesity Surgery found that improvement in liver function, insulin resistance, triglycerides and A1c levels, in addition to the weight loss. Even more amazing are the claims that ReShape melts away fat on those trouble spots – hips, thighs, buttocks, belly, and love handles, while the patient can consume up to 2,000 calories per day.

Cons

• While the product was aggressively pushed for approval, there is little known about the pill other than seven out of eight subjects who received the balloon experienced nausea and five vomited in the first week. Of the 264 subjects, 15% asked to have the balloon removed early due to the continued discomfort.
• The cost is estimated to be between $5,000 to $10,000. And with unknown long-term effects, this is a pricey “miracle” for many.
• Too many professionals with a vested interest in the price tag that comes with this “miracle” are endorsing the product without further research and results.

Reality

• We must not judge or berate those suffering with obesity looking for a medical help. Instead, we must change general attitudes about healthy living and losing weight which includes identifying marketing gimmicks that may be unhealthy, even dangerous and reintroduce the once tried-and -true solution – fitness and nutrition.
• The statistics of failed gastric bypass procedures is incomplete as many patients are too embarrassed or frustrated to report their results but we know that there is a significant increase in failure following five to ten years following the procedure. Similarly, sleeve gastrectomy have poorer long-term results throwing further red flags for "miracle" promises.
• With instant results and no effort, none of these procedures can be effective long-term. It is a lifestyle change that requires commitment to exercise, healthy eating, learning to cook, downsizing meals while still maintaining good nutrition that will ultimately bring success and happiness.