NOT Burning the Fat: VBLOC Therapy

In another sign that shows mankind has officially lost the battle of the bulge, EnteroMedics has introduced a new device that promises some of the same benefits of bariatric surgery – i.e. stomach stapling – to those with a BMI of over 35. Another words, morbidly obese.

Currently undergoing trails in the US, it has been demonstrated to be effective in clinical trials as a way to suppress the appetite and cause safe weight loss.

According to EnteroMedics:

VBLOC therapy is designed to precisely control, or “neuroregulate”, nerve and organ function. The vagal nerves regulate much of the activity of the stomach and the pancreas and are also believed to play a significant role in the signaling of satiety and hunger.

VBLOC Therapy delivers high frequency, low energy electrical signals through laparoscopically implanted leads to block vagal nerve transmission. The delivery of energy to the nerves is intermittent and the effects of VBLOC Therapy on the nerves and end organs are intended to be reversible. The system is designed to be precisely programmed and non-invasively adjusted to meet individual needs. Unlike the majority of existing surgical obesity treatments, normal digestive system anatomy is preserved. Clinical trials are intended to show that VBLOC Therapy will help those who are morbidly obese manage their weight.

Currently available surgical obesity treatments such as gastric bypass surgery and laparoscopic banding alter normal anatomy to reduce stomach size. Clinical studies will demonstrate if VBLOC Therapy offers a safe and effective alternative to the well known complications associated with existing approaches to bariatric surgery.

The therapy seems to work and if it passes trials and FDA approval in the US, this device could be a huge seller. After all, in 2005, about 170,000 people had bariatric surgery and this could be a less invasive replacement.

The scariest thing about this is it again tends to reinforce the idea that obesity is an uncontrollable disease only stoppable by serious medical intervention.

Why can’t we just eat more sensibly and get some exercise instead? Because that would require work and exercise – the two things that obese persons already don’t want to do.

So eat hearty, have that supersized meal and down all the Starbucks and doughnuts you can handle. Later, when you lose sight of your feet, you can get this cool device planted in your body and in no time look like…

Ohh. Forgot to mention that after being so fat you will look like a deflated balloon, still not have the energy to walk up a flight of stairs and may have a much higher chance of committing suicide – at least if the side effects are anything like those for gastric surgery.

Because this device only solves one problem: obesity. Not a few pounds overweight, not being insecure or addicted to eating and you won’t look like a movie star, either.

You still have to address the root problem. After all, NOBODY can say they accidentally got 50 pounds overweight. Come on! “I don’t know what happened. I just woke up one day after spending the last ten years eating like Henry the VIII and, wow, I gained a few pounds…” Right.

People are obese because they work at it. They eat too many calories, don’t exercise and watch their waist size triple. Don’t think it’s not noticeable – it is.

The problem is that they don’t think it’s important enough to take steps until – wham! - they are a whale. They are – in essence – self-destructive. Just as a smoker, a drug addict or an alcoholic.

To combat this, they need more than just a surgical solution or a diet, they need to build self-esteem. How? By accomplishing something – and what better way than by getting fit? Not by a miracle, but by working at it daily.

Not only will the fat start to melt off, but they can work on the root of overfatness: depression, low self-esteem, isolation and all the other things that make life tough at times.

Exercise makes you happy, once you get it into your routine. Your body produces endorphins during exercise that give you a sense of well-being. Why do you think some people are addicted to the gym?

And having control over your life gives you a sense of satisfaction that few other things can match. When you can control your weight, you are empowered and other things in life seem within reach.

The same applies to how you eat – wouldn’t you rather decide what to eat rather than letting some fast-food chain owning millionaire who doesn’t let fat people on his yacht decide for you?

Time for people to wake up and realize that they control their destiny and these medical solutions are like tossing a life preserver at the Titanic as it goes down. Don’t wait till the decks are awash and the last lifeboat has left. Start now or pay later – maybe with your life - despite modern medical miracles.

Get educated, eat right and get active. The costs are low, the benefits are huge and nothing will make those problems go away faster than felling good about yourself.

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