14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of years ago, in 2013, researchers counted a total of 2.1 billion overweight and obese people living all across the world. Back in 1980, just 857 million people who were struggling with their weight were documented on a global scale.
What this means is that, in this day and age, obesity rates are pretty much out of control. Hoping to solve this problem, researchers with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies came up with the idea to serve people imaginary meals in an attempt to help them lose weight.
In a recent report, the scientists explain how, with this thought in mind, they got to work developing a pill that could trick the human body into thinking that it had consumed calories. This pill that they developed goes by the name of fexaramine.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies explains that their pill is not designed to dissolve in the body. Instead, it remains inside a person's digestive tract and tricks the body into thinking that it had received a rather hearty meal. As a result, the body starts burning calories.
In a video detailing their work, which you can find just below this article, the researchers explain that, because it does not dissolve and, therefore, does not reach the bloodstream, fexaramine causes fewer side effects than other diet pills currently available on the market do.
“This pill is like an imaginary meal. It sends out the same signals that normally happen when you eat a lot of food, so the body starts clearing out space to store it. But there are no calories and no change in appetite,” said study senior author Ronald Evans.
The pill has so far only been tested on laboratory mice. Still, the scientists say that it proved successful in lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar, minimizing inflammation, and preventing weight gain. Hence, efforts are now being made to debut clinical trials involving human volunteers.
