Treatment of obesity and overweight with capsules that increase their volume in the stomach

One of the strategies for treating obesity by localizing the GI tract is the use of substances that form a large volume hydrogel in contact with water and partially fill the stomach and small intestine, reducing the amount of food consumed. This approach produces a reliable reduction in body weight and is reasonably safe.

The journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism published the results of a randomized clinical trial using capsules that increase their volume in the stomach. The study included patients with a BMI of 24-40 kg/m2 (n=280). Patients were randomized to receive 2.4 g stomach-expanding capsules twice daily or placebo for 24 weeks.

As a result, the use of these capsules was shown to be safe and quite effective. The average reduction in body weight in the treatment group was -6.1% and -2.5%, respectively. The reduction in waist circumference was -5.6 ± 8.3 cm in the treatment group versus -2.9 ± 4.8 in the placebo group.