There are new implants for curbing obesity on the horizon.
Scientists from Imperial College in the United Kingdom are working on a microchip that they think will be able to help people curb their appetite and lose weight.
They are about to start animal testing with the chip and are hoping it will be more effective than weight loss surgery.
Not everyone who gets gastric bypass surgery ends up losing weight.
The microchip will be attached to the vagus nerve, which controls several functions in the human body, including appetite.
When it is attached to the nerve, the chip can read and process signals to the brain, controlling a person’s hunger level.
Professor Stephen Bloom said: “There will be a little tiny insert and it will be so designed as to have no side effects, but restrict appetite in a natural way. As far as the brain is concerned, it will get the same signals from the intestinal system as it normally gets after a meal, and these signals tell it don't eat any more.”
What do you think? Should doctors use implanted microchips to control a person’s appetite?
