Food capsules which “trick” the body into thinking it is full could help combat Britain’s obesity crisis, new research suggests.
Previous studies have found a key difference between lean and obese people is the overweight ignore signals from the small intestine that tell the brain the body is full.
Scientists in London have found the lower intestine could be targeted by special food supplements which trick the digestive system into behaving as though a person has had a gastric bypass, Daily Telegraph reported.
They hope the new treatment - in the form of a capsule – could be used instead of expensive weight-loss operations, to reduce spiralling levels of obesity and type two diabetes in Britain.
The research, carried out by Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, found that supplements which stimulated an area of the lower bowel convinced the body that enough food had been eaten.
Scientists behind the breakthrough said they are hopeful the capsules could be widely available on the NHS within five years.
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