Gas-filled gastric balloon helps obese patients lose weight

May 26, 2016  14:26

Gas-filled balloons that sit in the stomach can help obese patients lose twice as much weight as lifestyle changes alone, new research reveals today.

The device works by inflating inside the stomach, making a person feel fuller and as a result they eat less.

A new study, funded by Obalon Therapeutics, analyzing their effectiveness found in those people who had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 40 - classified as obese - lost almost seven per cent of their weight.

Furthermore, these individuals also showed signs of improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Dr Shelby Sullivan, lead researcher and director of bariatric endoscopy at Washington University School of Medicine St Louis, said: 'Our research shows that the studied balloon system can help patients lose almost twice as much weight compared with lifestyle changes alone.

'This is important because weight loss is very difficult and a significant number of people are not successful in achieving their weight loss goals with diet changes and exercise.'

The encouraging results come at a time when the world's obesity rates continue to climb.

According to public health experts, more than 640 million people across the world are obese - defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher.

And, they warn, the number of overweight people in total eclipses those deemed a normal weight, or underweight.

In order to test the effectiveness of the Obalon 6-Month Balloon System, researchers enrolled 387 participants across 15 study sites in the US.

Those taking part were randomly assigned the Obalon treatment, or were put into a control group.

Individuals in the treatment group were asked to swallow three capsules - one every three weeks - that each contained an Obalon balloon.

Immediately after swallowing the capsules, the balloons were each filled with 250 cubic centimeters of nitrogen-based gas, via a small catheter attached to the capsule.

Meanwhile, the control group were asked to swallow three sugar-filled capsules - once every three weeks.

The researchers then mimicked the process of filling the sugar capsule with gas, so that participants in the control group were unaware they were received a placebo.

Researchers found that those in the Obalon treatment group lost an average of 6.81 per cent of their body weight, while the control group lost 3.59 per cent. 

Dr Sullivan and her team also found that 64.3 per cent of individuals who received the Obalon balloon achieved at least a five per cent total body weight loss, compared to only 32 per cent of the control group.

Individuals in the Obalon balloon treatment group experienced improvements in their systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

Dr Sullivan said: 'While patients in our study who used this balloon system had a nearly seven per cent total body weight loss, I believe that, once this system is used in the "real world", patients will experience more than that. 

'This projection is based on the fact that we've seen other weight-loss interventions help people lose more weight than what occurred in clinical trials for those treatments.'

Dr Sullivan presented the findings today at Digestive Disease Week 2016, the largest gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.  

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