I was watching Beyond Tomorrow on TV tonight and saw them talk about a vaccine in human trials that causes your body to create antibodies that attack a chemical that causes strong hunger cravings. They showed a bunch of rats.. some with the vaccine and some without. They set them loose in a place with tons and tons of fatning food. After some period of time you could see the ones without the vaccine were very fat, and the ones with were 15% lighter and visibly different.
"Obesity and the health risks associated with it are a problem of worldwide epidemic proportions. However a biotechnology company in Switzerland believes it may have found a solution to help obese sufferers control their weight loss. Cytos is conducting trials on a novel vaccine designed to lower the desire for food. Scientists say the vaccine suppresses hunger and so prevents the weight gain that often follows a diet; called the yo-yo effect. The vaccine works by tricking the body into making antibodies that neutralise ghrelin, a hormone that triggers strong feelings of hunger. The vaccine limits a person’s cravings to eat, helping them to not over-consume food. Second stage trials have just started."
I can't wait for that to hit the shelves! They said people with a BMI of 40% are morbidly obese, with a 300% increased risk of fatal problems. According to books if I were perfectly healthy I should be 14% BMI. I'm 32%! I've got enough fat for two people, and I'm 8% away from being morbidly obese. Yuck.
Working from his home office in Toronto,
Ryan de Laplante can be found developing software in
Java by day, and obsessing with technology by night.
Ryan has been designing and writing software for
IJW since 1998 and is very passionate about his work.
