The push for instant weight loss has lead to the popularization of surgeries that can dramatically alter the human body and its digestive functions. Complications are numerous, but the demand for weight loss surgery is high and it doesn’t look as though it will be waning any time soon. For those seeking a safer alternative, there may be hope on the horizon, but experts warn that it is no silver bullet to weight loss.

A company, GI Dynamics, is claiming that they have a new product that can mimic the effects of weight loss surgery, without the invasive procedure. The company is currently resting an intestinal liner, which is made of a substance very similar to Teflon that can reduce the body’s ability to absorb fat.

"Fundamentally what we're trying to do is mimic the bypass portion of a gastric bypass procedure. So instead of surgically bypassing ... we're mechanically bypassing the intestine ... with an impermeable membrane that lines the inside of the intestine," said Stuart Randle, the chief executive officer GI Dynamics.

While in theory this sounds like a magical cure to weight gain, there are several complications that could ensue. Namely, the material could also inhibit the absorption of key vitamins and nutrients, leaving the patient deficient in many areas. The liner apparently slows down the entire digestive process, and proponents claim that this leaves patients feeling fuller, longer.

Participants in a recent study managed to lose thirty pounds after having the device implanted in their intestines. The procedure, while non invasive, does require the liner to be implanted into the body through the mouth. Although the primary study looked hopeful, there is still cause for real concern about this device, as well as weight loss surgery in general.

Although they can be very effective over the short term, some experts have likened these techniques to fad diets. The patient loses weight very quickly, but there is no motivation to make a lifestyle change. Since many of these procedures are not permanent, it is all too easy for the patient to gain back the weight that they lost over a period of a few years.

Despite the popularity of radical surgeries and the development of new methods to help people lose weight quickly, there is no replacement for proper nutrition and exercise, particularly for those that want to avoid the harmful side effects that go hand in hand with many of these procedures.

For those desperate to lose weight without any effort, these surgeries and new devices offer hope, but is it a false hope? The long term results have yet to come in, and until they definitively prove that these methods offer a safe and healthy way to lose weight, the best solution is still to modify bad eating habits, develop a fitness strategy and address issues that cause emotional eating. At the end of the day, that is by far the safest and most effective way to achieve long term weight loss.

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absorption, chief executive officer, digestive process, fad diets, gastric bypass, hope on the horizon, human body, impermeable membrane, instant weight loss, intestine, intestines, invasive procedure, lifestyle change, magical cure, proponents, silver bullet, surgeries, teflon, weight gain, weight loss surgery