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This October saw yet another medical device fail in a high-profile clinical trial. Alongside the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturers have been designing devices to help people lose weight. Why? Well, with obesity reaching epidemic proportions around the world, there are millions of people “out there” waiting to buy something that will help them shed unwanted pounds. Everyone wants a quick and easy solution to an age-old problem: how do you lose weight without any change in your lifestyle? Everyone wants to keep on eating without paying the price in extra pounds. Unfortunately, just as there’s no sign of a magic bullet drug that will burn away those unwanted pounds, the latest scientific implant has also failed. It has been deja vu all over again. The pre-trial hype claimed this revolutionary device would use technology to suppress appetite. If people do not feel hungry, they will eat less and lose weight. The result? The device proved absolutely safe. Why? Probably because the device had no measurable effect on the bodies of those who tried it out. Read the rest of this entry »

As people have become more aware of genetics, a number of myths have been born. The most common is that the genes you inherit from your parents fix your body type and, no matter what you do, you cannot change it. This makes genetics a very convenient excuse when people are looking to explain why their latest diet is a failure. The reality is rather different. Genetics is science looking at the process that enables each new generation to inherit characteristics from the parental generation. People are deceived into believing that this science is very precise when researchers announce they have identified a particular gene responsible for an inherited disease. Science fiction stories have popularized the idea that parents will soon be able to order designer babies. Now the authors who are looking to sell their latest diet books have begun to push the idea that one size does not fit all genetic types. Rather, every individual has to assess their “genetic type” and then choose the most effective diet. The myth is being spread that basic human chemistry does not work in the same way across all human beings. “Experts” claim that people absorb carbohydrates, fat and protein in different ways. This difference can be measured by blood type, fingerprints and inside leg measurement, among other factors. Diets and exercise programs can be designed for individuals based on these factors. It seems science can help people lose weight. Read the rest of this entry »