Is this healthy? The controversial new weight loss device: A surgically implanted stomach pump

Is this healthy? The controversial new weight loss device: A surgically implanted stomach pump

Aspire Assist weight loss device ***IMAGE SUPPLIED VIA STEPHEN ADAMS***

A new weight loss device is about to become legal in Britain, which will allow people to gorge themselves on food, then pump the food out. The AspireAssist has proven results already, and some people are eager to try a surefire solution that lets them indulge themselves at the same time while losing weight. 

According to The Daily Mail,

Patients at first undergo a 15-minute operation to have a tube inserted through their abdomen into their stomach. Once it is fitted, they can attach a small pump to the exit of the tube, which washes water into the stomach before undigested food is sucked back into a bag. When not is use, the end of the tube, which remains in the stomach, is sealed with a special stopper.

Those fitted with the device avoid digesting as much as a third of their food by pumping it out after each meal and flushing it down the toilet.

‘No one needs to ever know,’ the manufacturers claim in their marketing material, although they advise careful chewing of food to prevent blockages to the plastic tubes.

British gastroenterologist Dr Anthony Shonde plans to offer what he describes as ‘an excellent alternative to obesity surgery’ to private patients at his London clinic from September.

He said: ‘Fitting and use [of the device] is not dangerous and the weight loss results are nearly as good as surgery – but without the risks.’

Although the concept will sound repulsive to many, he said the principle was just ‘a reverse of PEG feeding, which we have used for more than 20 years to feed those too sick to take food by mouth’.

But Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said the device was nothing short of ‘vomit on demand’.

He said: ‘I cannot believe we have now invented a gadget that allows people to make gluttons of themselves and eat like pigs and not suffer the consequences. It appals me to think people will be able to press a button to empty the contents of their stomachs.

The first person in Britain to try the stomach pump, Sruli Saurymper, said he’s lost 50 pounds in 14 months since using it. What do you think, is this a good option for people who have difficulty losing weight other ways, or is it going too far? 

Rachel Alexander

Rachel Alexander is the editor of Intellectual Conservative. She is a senior editor at The Stream, and is a regular contributor to Townhall, the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research, and The Christian Post, and provides weekend news items for Right Wing News. She frequently appears on TV and news radio as a conservative commentator. She is a recovering attorney and former gun magazine editor. She previously served as a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona, corporate attorney for Go Daddy Software, and Special Assistant/Deputy County Attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. As co-president of the UW Political Science Honor Society, she obtained degrees in Political Science and History from the University of Washington, followed by a law degree from Boston College and the University of Arizona. She was ranked by Right Wing News as one of the 50 Best Conservative Columnists from 2011-2017.

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