Source 丨21 Healthnews21 original work
Author 丨Ji Yuanyuan
Editor 丨Xu Xu
Image source 丨 Figureworm
It's a world of "thin beauty"
As early as the 1960s, petite figure seemed to have become a common aesthetic worldwide, and since then, the size of clothes has become smaller and smaller. The development of the 90s was more extreme, and the "heroin trend" paper people once led the fashion standard. After 2000, people gradually changed from the team of simply "thin" to the pursuit of curvy beauty such as hips, abs, and beautiful backs.
As a result, the term "fat" is sinking faster and faster in a pejorative direction, and in order to successfully get rid of "excess" fat, people are fighting against its accumulation in their bodies with unprecedented enthusiasm and even fanaticism. Exercise, dieting, taking medicines, a variety of instruments and products have become people's means of fighting fat, and among them, taking fat directly from the body and discarding it is the way that a considerable number of people yearn for. Nowadays, a new type of intraoral device is also "respected" as a "slimming artifact".
Recently, the university of Otago in New Zealand and the research team in Leeds, UK, collaborated and published an academic study entitled "An intraoral device for weight loss: initial clinical findings" in the British Journal of Dental, claiming that they have developed a world-first slimming device - DentalSlim Diet Control. It can help patients lose 12.72 pounds in 2 weeks, and lose an average of about 1 pound per day.
According to public information, the DentalSlim Diet Control is a new type of intraoral device, the design only allows the wearer to open the mouth of about 2 mm, it can keep the airway open, allow normal speech, but only eat liquid diet. Use an elastic separator commonly used in orthodontics to place on the first molar to allow the teeth to separate. When the teeth are sufficiently separated, a dental impression is used to make a relevant model, and a dental slimming device is manufactured on this model.
Who would have thought that dental devices can actually help patients lose weight, and this device technology is really reliable?
In this regard, the endocrinology and metabolism doctor of a top three hospital in Shanghai said in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that weight loss is a difficult, long-term and scientific treatment. To control weight, it is necessary to maintain the amount of energy intake for a long time, strengthen exercise and physical activity, change the lifestyle of sitting and not moving, and if necessary, cooperate with medication under the guidance of a doctor.
"The idea of dental devices losing weight has been around before, but there has been some controversy. To a certain extent, this way of losing weight has not been scientifically verified. A healthy way to lose weight is to scientifically control your diet and develop a good lifestyle. Weight loss should be carried out step by step, under the guidance of experts, otherwise it will cause greater harm to the body. The doctor said.
Is dental device weight loss reliable?
The emergence of related devices such as DentalSlim Diet Control is always inseparable from the rising number of obese people.
According to the World Health Organization, overweight/obesity has become a serious threat to human health worldwide in recent decades, and its incidence is increasing. The number of obese people globally increased from 990 million in 2016 to 1.21 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 5.0%. The number of obese people globally is expected to reach 1.55 billion by 2025 and 1.99 billion by 2030, with a COMPOUND annual growth rate of 5.1% over the period.
Nowadays, obesity has become a topic of concern for many people, in order to better manage the body, enhance the physique, many people began to shift their attention to many directions, the DentalSlim Diet Control is a new type of intraoral device may be obese people for weight loss "good recipe" a search.
According to the device's protocol, the study enrolled a total of seven healthy and obese participants with an average age of 36.71 years. The participants had an average height and weight of 4062.5px (± 5.59) and 215.96 pounds (± 23.22), respectively, and an average body mass index (BMI) of 40.84kg/m2 (± 8.27), and after 2 weeks, the researchers needed to assess multiple experiences such as physical function, self-esteem, and sexual life.
It is reported that when the experimenters wore the experiment, the survey results found that the average weight of the experimenters decreased by 6.36 kilograms. At the same time, the study also assessed the comfort and tolerance of the experimenters in wearing the device, and the results showed that the volunteers had difficulty pronouncing some words when using the "mouth lock device", but the overall situation was not affected, and felt nervous and embarrassed "only occasionally", and "almost never" felt uncomfortable when tasting changes or drank. However, participants said they occasionally felt unwell and felt that life was less than satisfactory overall. In addition, the results of the study showed that after wearing this "slimming brace" for two weeks, all participants lost an average of 6.36 kilograms of weight.
The lead authors of the study say the "slimming braces" can be used as a non-invasive, reversible, and economical surgical alternative that can return many obese people to their normal eating habits and lifestyles.
In fact, as early as the 1980s, dentists tried to use jaw wiring (jaw fixation) as a temporary aid to weight loss, but the associated risk was very high, and even the risk of acute psychosis was not low. Bruntton Brunton, principal investigator at the University of Otago, believes that "this is a non-invasive, reversible, economical and attractive surgical alternative with no adverse consequences." For those suffering from obesity, the device will be an effective, safe, and economical "weight loss tool."
The main barrier to limiting weight loss success is that patients tend to be less compliant, and this device can help patients stick to a low-calorie diet for a period of time. And, officials subsequently said, the device was invented not to serve as a tool for rapid or long-term weight loss, but rather to help people who need to lose weight before undergoing surgery. The device is helpful for short-term weight loss with specific goals, such as obese patients who need knee or hip replacement surgery, or those who are preparing for bariatric surgery (some patients are overweight and even unable to receive anesthesia).
In addition to the adapted population, it is not difficult to see from the protocol of this study that it has certain limitations, such as a small sample size of only 7 cases and a short time span of only two weeks. In addition, in terms of the sex of patients, it is mainly female. "The sample size of this study is too small to be convincing. In terms of weight loss, patients should avoid entering the misunderstanding, a comprehensive assessment of the patient's physical fitness, mental state, and the absence of organic diseases, and the need for clear trial data. The endocrinologist of the above-mentioned top three hospitals told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter.
How to lose weight more scientifically and effectively?
In fact, the number of obese people in China should not be underestimated.
According to the "Report on the Status of Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents (2020)", the current overweight and obesity rates of residents aged 18 and over in mainland China are 34.3% and 16.4%, the overweight and obesity rates of children and adolescents aged 6-17 are 11.1% and 7.9%, and the overweight and obesity rates of children under 6 years old are 6.8% and 3.6%, respectively. According to data from iiMedia Research, 45.6% of Netizens in China feel that they are overweight in 2021, and 46% of Netizens are satisfied with their weight and think that their current weight is just right, and only 8.4% of Netizens feel that they are thin.
At present, according to the statistics of Zhiyan Consulting, there are more than 7,000 enterprises specializing in weight loss-related industries in China, including more than 1,000 companies with their own independent brands. In order to compete for the rapidly developing weight loss market, major brands have resorted to their own means, presenting a scene of thousands of controversies and vitality.
In order to meet the needs of the whole people "thin" down, the way not to take medicine is more highly sought after, so that a variety of weight loss methods and products began to emerge, according to the "China Plastic Surgery Hospital Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report" Statistics show that in 2019, the mainland medical aesthetic industry market size reached about 247 billion yuan, it is predicted that in 2021 China's medical aesthetic market will exceed 300 billion yuan. Among them, the scale of the medical beauty + body shaping market is nearly 10 billion yuan, and the average annual compound growth rate is the fastest growing and the highest attention among many medical beauty skin care categories.
In the current weight loss market, the market share of domestic enterprises firmly occupies a dominant position, accounting for about 62% of the total sales of the weight loss market, while the market share of joint ventures and foreign-funded enterprises is 38%. This is mainly due to the innovation and progress of the leading enterprises in the domestic weight loss industry in terms of scientific and technological level and marketing strategy.
In the face of a dazzling array of products and technologies, how to slim down scientifically?
Professor Yao Qiyuan, chief physician of the Department of Weight Loss and Metabolism Surgery of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, previously said in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that in the clinical field, in the field of weight loss treatment, weight loss metabolic surgery can help people solve the problem of fat meat through a scalpel. At present, many hospitals have obesity clinics, obesity and weight loss clinics. Patients can reduce food intake and absorption through weight reduction metabolic surgery, thereby reducing energy intake and sugar metabolism load, and reducing body weight. "In my outpatient clinic, there have been patients who have lost an average weight of 31 kg in one year after bariatric surgery and an average weight loss of 20 kg in 10-15 years." Yao Qiyuan said,
Of course, weight loss metabolism also has indications, first, BMI index (Body MassIndex, that is, body mass index) greater than or equal to 32.5 patients, to actively operate; secondly, BMI index of 27.5 to 32.5, with type 2 diabetes, through drug control and lifestyle adjustment is difficult to control blood sugar, and the emergence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, sleep breathing syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome and other two or more metabolic syndromes or comorbidities, can consider surgery; secondly, Surgery is recommended for men with a waist circumference greater than 90 cm and a women's waist circumference greater than 85 cm; in addition, some scholars believe that patients with a BMI index of more than 25 with diabetes are recommended for surgical intervention.
In addition to weight loss and metabolism, Professor Yao Qiyuan pointed out that weight loss needs to be scientific and reasonable, not blind, and can not go to extremes. "Parents should educate their children to be healthy and beautiful, and they should stop the occurrence of deliberate dieting and weight loss in time." Professor Yao Qiyuan suggested that in daily life, people who are worried about obesity may wish to try the following three points:
First, keep your mouth shut. Make the weighted bowl and spoon smaller and lengthen the number of meals. Reduce the amount of each meal in order to achieve weight loss.
Second, regulate the composition of the diet. Eat more vegetables and proteins, and eat every two or three hours or three or four hours, which will help digestion and absorption.
Third, exercise in moderation. Weight management is very important, and moderate exercise can help deplete the body's ability to achieve weight loss strategies.