Would you believe that stimulating the nerves with tiny amounts of electricity could help you lose weight? That’s what the research shows about a patients who had electrodes implanted at the junction between the esophagus and the stomach cut their calorie intake by more than 30 per cent in a month.
Patients with a body mass index of around 35 (the target for men is 20.1-25, and for women 18.7-23.8), lost an average of 14 per cent of their excess weight in up to six months.
The weight loss was achieved without any additional dieting or other therapy.
The electrodes have a blocking effect on the vagus nerve, which provides communication between the brain and the digestive system.
Research suggest the nerve is involved in the expansion of the stomach to accommodate food, the release of gastric acids, the emptying of the stomach contents and the sensation of hunger and fullness.
The therapy is based on an early treatment for ulcers,where patients had the nerves near the stomach severed.
A side effect of this treatment was that patients lost weight. But the effect was temporary as the body adapted to it and sought other ways of getting the information to the brain.
With the electrical stimulation, nerves are blocked only intermittently, and the result is that the body does not try to find alternative ways of communicating the brain.
In a trial, 31 patients were given five minutes of the nerve blocking treatment, alternating with five minutes without blocking for 12 hours a day.
Exactly how it has an effect on weight and food intake is still being investigated.