Article preview from Medtech Insight - December, 2012
Driven by a vast and underserved market in dire need of safer, less-invasive, more effective solutions, manufacturers are developing several next-generation devices for the minimally invasive treatment of obesity. Many of these emerging devices not only mimic the restriction and malabsorption mechanisms involved in bariatric surgery, but are also designed to influence the metabolic responses that are key to losing weight, improving outcomes, and impacting chronic disease. Indeed the obesity intervention paradigm is rapidly changing as ongoing research provides new insights into the underlying mechanisms behind obesity and bariatric surgery, heralding a new era where the primary treatment target for bariatric surgery is becoming disease specific, rather than targeted at obesity alone.
Article preview from Medtech Insight - December, 2012
If necessity is the mother of invention, then it should be no surprise that minimally invasive obesity devices continue to be a hot area for investment, research, and innovation. Obesity is one of the most compelling public health problems today, with nearly two-thirds of US adults and one-third of children either overweight or obese. By 2030, some 42% of all Americans are expected to be obese, up from 36% in 2010. Although the rate of growth in obesity has leveled off for some subpopulations since 2003, the numbers of morbidly obese (BMI [body mass index] > or = 40 kg/m2) continue to grow faster than any other group. Approximately 18 million Americans currently are considered morbidly obese, and experts predict the prevalence of morbid obesity will more than double in the years ahead, increasing from roughly 5% today to 11% over the next two decades. (See Exhibit 1.)
The economic burden of the obesity epidemic is staggering. Obesity accounts for nearly 21% of overall US health care costs, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that obesity-related medical care costs alone were $147 billion in 2008. But obesity is not a problem in the US only. According to the World Health Organization, obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, and today, more than 500 million people worldwide are clinically obese. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the US would save $549.5 billion over the next 20 years if the prevalence of obesity remained at 2010 levels.
There are several government initiatives aimed at prevention, including Michele Obama’s program to fight childhood obesity, the HHS’ Healthy People 2020 agenda, attempts to ban sales of large sugary drinks, and the US Preventative Task Force’s June 2012 recommendation that family practice physicians screen all adult patients for obesity. But for patients who are already obese, the heart of this problem centers on the fact that there are few effective treatment options available today. Current treatments include diet and exercise, prescription drugs, and bariatric surgery. But these treatments have had a limited effect in stemming the tide of this disease. Exercise and diet are frequently not successful, and if they are, the results are often not permanent. The drug alternatives currently available for treating obesity can be effective for some, but drugs often result in only moderate weight loss (typically no more than 10% of body weight) and many obesity drugs have been taken off the market due to unwanted side effects.
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