Losing weight is not an easy thing to do.
When your body is biologically programmed to go for that creamy chocolate cake in your fridge instead of carrots and broccoli, resisting sometimes requires god-like levels of restraint.
And with lockdowns keeping us in our homes, more of us have gotten used to the couch-potato, potato-chip life.
If nothing is done about it, obesity can cause numerous health issues, some of which could end up being fatal.
Fortunately, a group of researchers in New Zealand has come up with an ingenious solution to this problem: clamping your jaw shut.
NZ Researchers Create A New Weight-Loss Device Which Uses Magnets to Clamp Wearer’s Jaw Together
Have a look:
It looks like a medieval torture device, but it’s actually a modern invention.
Enter DentalSlim Diet Control: a weight-loss device that might just make your teeth fall out from sheer anxiety.
The device, created by researchers in New Zealand, uses magnets to clamp a patient’s jaw together with the aim of combating the global obesity epidemic.
After all, if you can’t eat, you can’t put on weight, right?
Reader: So people just die of starvation?
Exactly. That way, fewer people become obese.
Reader: Uh…
Okay, I’m kidding, of course.
How It Works
Patients wearing the device are restricted to a liquid diet, but their breathing or speech is not affected.
Though they might always look angry or constipated with their clenched teeth while talking to you.
The procedure involves a dentist fitting magnets and locking bolts to the patient’s upper and lower molars, allowing the jaws to open only two millimetres.
One of the researchers behind the device said it’s a “non-invasive, reversible, economical and attractive alternative to surgical procedures.”
“The fact is, there are no adverse consequences with this device,” he added.
Results
So, does it work?
Well, according to a paper published in the British Dental journal recently, seven women each lost an average of 6.36kg during a two-week trial with the device.
While the patients did experience some discomfort initially, they generally found the device “tolerable”.
“Repulsive & Dehumanising”
Social media users, however, were appalled.
Some accused the researchers of fat shaming and questioned if the trial was ethical, with one even calling it “repulsive and dehumanising”.
“Maybe instead of developing torture devices, you could do some research into how the medical profession consistently fails people based on the out-of-date and inappropriate BMI scale,” wrote another user.
Some netizens have compared the device to a Scold’s Bridle, which was an instrument of punishment and form of public humiliation used in the 17th century, mainly against women for speaking out.
Well… to be fair, it does seem like a pretty valid comparison.
Unlike jaw wiring, which was a popular way for restricting people to liquid diets in the 1980s, DentalSlim comes with an emergency release in case the patient vomits or has a panic attack.
The release was not used by any patient during the two-week trial.
One woman, however, admitted to cheating the liquid diet by melting chocolate to get a sugary hit.
Doctor: I’m not even mad. That’s just impressive.
Whether it’s ethical or not, the choice to wear the device will lie with the patient, so it’s not like it’s being forced on anybody.
If it becomes publicly available in the future, those who have trouble losing weight may turn to it as a last resort.
Reader: I’ll definitely get it too. Bubble tea is part of a nutritious liquid diet, right?
Yes, dear reader, of course it is.
If you want to know the real ways to lose weight, watch this video to the end instead:
Feature Image: Twitter (@trtworld) / Shutterstock.com (Dmytro Flisak)
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