Device Tells Brainless When To Stop Eating

By Sam Bakken in News on Jun 7, 2005 5:12PM

We think that the news coming out of the U.S. must really aggravate some of the 852 million hungry people in the world (and the one in ten households that goes hungry here at home). Most Americans have too much to eat and some of us (over 60 million) can't stop stuffing our faces. Some of us spend a lot of money to make our stomachs smaller—anything to stave off the dreaded salad and a jog. And now, just in time for National Hunger Awareness Month, Northwestern University's School of Medicine is studying a mechanical device that they say may help a person eliminate their hunger awareness.

The device is called an Implantable Gastric Stimulation (IGS) or a "stomach pacemaker". It's implanted in the stomach and produces mild "chaotic currents" that researchers say may quell appetite. Researchers have implanted 190 of the devices, some of them are activated and some are not. Isn't it kind of pathetic that we fatties would rather put robots in our bodies than exhibit some self-control?