Electrostimulation for Weight Loss

With the birth of electrical stimulation, gastric electrical stimulation, it seems we have found a possible answer to the obesity problem in America. According to the website Physiology.org, "Gastric electrical stimulation (GES), as a potential therapy for obesity, has been extensively studied in both animals and humans." The method has been shown to be safe and effective.

The Facts

• The concept of electro stimulation for weight loss is relatively new. The Italian surgeon Valeria Cigaina developed it in the late 1980s.The method has been tested on both animals ,and humans, resulting in safe, effective, and substantial weight loss for both subjects. The website Medpagetoday.com writes that, "The treatment concept arose from recognition that low-volume, high-calorie foods, typical of many processed foods, can delay volume-activated gastric contractions, which are involved in satiety."

  This is the way it works: Electrodes are implanted and attached somewhere in the gastric muscle area at one end. At the other end, they are attached to a pulse generator. You have to undergo minor surgery to implant the device. According to the Medpagetoday.com, "the device senses food intake, and transmits electrical current to the stomach to stimulate gastric contraction." We still do not know exactly how it all works, only that using electrical stimulation definitely leads to weight loss. Several studies indicate that. For example, Arthur Bohdjalian, MD, of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, reported at the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery meeting that the 34 people in his study lost about 10 pounds and two inches from their waistline during a six-month evaluation of the device. In another study, as reported in the book "Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery" by William B. Inabnet, Eric J. DeMaria, Sayeed Ikramuddin, that started in 1995 one woman lost 32 kg and another 62 kg after 40 months of implantation. Physiology.org reports that, "Recently, GES has been reported to reduce food intake and body weight in both animals and humans. Similar to GES, in this study, we have found that IES resulted in a significant reduction in food intake (about 18.2%) and weight (6.2%) after a 4-wk period of treatment in the control rats."

Considerations

• While the results of electro stimulation are indeed promising, it is important to keep in mind that this is still a new science. More research on humans needs to be done in order to come up with any conclusive decisions regarding its safety and chronic effects. Most research has been conducted on animals such as rats. Also, any time you undergo surgery and anesthesia, you put yourself at risk for adverse effects.