A pill made from hydrogel has been developed by scientists at the National Research Council, Italy, which expands in your stomach and makes you feel full – perhaps a dream come true for people on diets and wanting to lose weight. The feeling of satiety* lasts for some hours, say the researchers.
The powdery pill, which has no name yet, expands and turns into a ball of jelly when it hits your stomach. The powder expands to 1,000 times its original size when combined with water. It is basically just cellulose, which the human body eliminates within five to six hours.
The scientists had been researching on using hydrogel to make nappies (diapers) more absorbent. They wondered whether the product could have a similar effect to gastric banding. They stressed that their study of 20 people needs to be carried out on a much larger group.
Another trial is currently underway on 90 volunteers, all of them overweight.
For best result you should take the 500mg pill with two glasses of water about 30 minutes before you plan to have a meal. It will become about the size of a tennis ball. The scientists say it will give you the sensation that you have consumed a plate of spaghetti before you tuck into your lunch or dinner, thus reducing the amount you eat. In a BBC interview, Professor Luigi Ambrosio, head researcher, said one of the scientists took a pill at 11 am and still felt fairly full by early evening.
If the current trial is successful the pill may be on the market just before the summer of 2008.
National Research Council, Italy (English page)
*Satiety = The feeling of fullness
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today