Here’s more proof that humans might not be the most intelligent creatures on earth. Are you desperate to lose weight? Why bother doing the logical thing—eating right and exercising. Instead, take some "magic pills".

"Italian scientists are testing a new diet pill that turns into a clear, gelatinous blob the size of a tennis ball that may help shrink waistlines by giving dieters a sense of satiety.

The pill, currently undergoing clinical trials at Rome's Policlinico Gemelli hospital, would be downed with two glasses of water at the first sign of a stomach rumble.

"The effect is like eating a nice plate of pasta," said Luigi Ambrosio, lead researcher on the project at the National Research Council's Institute for Composite and Biomedical Materials in Naples. "If you sit down for a meal with a stomach that already feels full, you'll end up eating less."

The unnamed pill is made from a cellulose compound of hydrogel, a material that's powdery when dry but plumps up to a cousin of Jell-O when wet (and also belongs to a class of material used in diapers and feminine napkins). The gel can soak up to 1,000 times its weight. A gram in capsule form quickly balloons from the size of a spit wad to a ball that holds nearly a liter of liquid."

Now, if just hearing about it isn’t gross enough, check out the attached photo. Prepared to gag:

Wonder what happens if one of those suckers gets lodged in your throat? :ack2:

Full article: Jelly in the Belly: A Diet Pill That Expands So You Don't (http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2007/06/dietpill)

It sounds a little scary....but, I can see where it would be a safer alternative than a surgical option. Obviously not everyone turns to surgery, but it is an appropriate option for some. Perhaps this pill will be an acceptable alternative to surgery.

I confess that the thought of that stuff that absorbs liquid in disposable diapers being in my stomach is a little creepy though.

wow, that sounds very scary!

I wouldn't like to pass it through the other end. Would be worse than a very hot vindaloo curry :eek:

Gross...LOL Big John

yea, i was wondering that myself...how you'd pass it, lol

LOL Big John!!

I too was wondering, how do you get it out? I don't think that could even fit in the small intestine, so that it could be passed.

I'd swallow one of those spit wads if it's composition isn't toxic. What a little mo jelly in my belly?? LMAO!!

Well, for it to even be considered, it's likely that the expanded form is unstable in our system. I'm sure it gets broken down before it comes to shooting a deuce the size of a baseball. At least I hope so. I like to think that even your average consumer isn't dumb enough to pay someone for the "amazing scientific advance" of swallowing, and then failing to shit, a brick. :rofl:

According to the linked article, the same product may be used to treat edemas.

Along the way, they discovered the spongelike material could be used to treat edemas, and are currently experimenting with it as a way to slow-water plants. The versions of the material for use in the diet pill is biocompatible, so the body just flushes it out, the scientist say.

I don't think most people over-eat because their stomach grumbles. Most of the overweight people I know eat when they AREN'T hungry, thus the weight problem. Or once they start eating, they eat beyond the point of being full (guilty!). This pill wouldn't work for me at least...

after having experimented with pretty much every diet pill known to man - and every appetite suppresant from the mid 80s to 2000s - that my problem was never eating because i was hungry.. my problem was eating because i wanted to eat.. hunger wasn't a factor.... and for a lot of really obese people -I don't' imagine that's any different...

gotta wonder how some plumbing in older buildings would deal with ssuch a "deposit"

I don't think most people over-eat because their stomach grumbles. Most of the overweight people I know eat when they AREN'T hungry, thus the weight problem. Or once they start eating, they eat beyond the point of being full (guilty!). This pill wouldn't work for me at least...
True...but the lap band works by making the available stomach space smaller...the same premise as this pill if I'm understanding it correctly. So, if the lap band would be an effective surgical alternative for you, this pill would be an effective non surgical alternative.

well heres the big problem.....the lapband surgery, gastric bypass...this new jelly pill....if a person WANTS to eat and/or CHOOSES to overeat, he/she can stretch their stomaches out again. How many people do you know of that have had the surgery and it "just didn't work" its not that it didnt' work, its that they didn't stick to the plan and restretched their stomaches.

well heres the big problem.....the lapband surgery, gastric bypass...this new jelly pill....if a person WANTS to eat and/or CHOOSES to overeat, he/she can stretch their stomaches out again. How many people do you know of that have had the surgery and it "just didn't work" its not that it didnt' work, its that they didn't stick to the plan and restretched their stomaches.
I can't argue with anything you say....

But at the same time, I can't argue that lapband/bypass/etc are not effective (short term for some, long term for others) for some people.

what do you mean?? yea you can argue w/ me all you want :) I have 2 kids and a hubby i'm used to people disagreeing w/ me, lol

I'm not saying that this option or any WL surgery WILL fail, I'm just saying the problem isnt' that people eat when hungry, but just b/c they are bored or soemthing and the WL surgeries can't help w/ that.

I don't even want to imagine the consequences of having this fall into the wrong persons hand. You know some idiots are going to be eating nothing but this pill...I hope FDA keeps a short leash on it.

Actually, I heard about this pill months ago. I think in theory it doesn't sound like a bad idea. Infact I would go as far to try it because I do carry a lot of hunger, otherwise I wouldn't eat as much. But, at the same time, my goal is to learn to eat and feel satisfied, not learn to eat and feel full. I think taking such a pill would disrupt that goal.

Infact I would go as far to try it because I do carry a lot of hunger, otherwise I wouldn't eat as much.

I don't believe an "expanding jelly pill" would really do much to sate your appetite, LFM, and that's one issue I have with them.

There's a lot more to satiety than simply feeling full. Only when your cells and body tissues are fully nourished will you be truly satisfied. And that can only happen by consuming nutrient-rich foods, not some artificial diet pills.

Sure, you may get away with it for awhile, but it's only a matter of time before the body objects and starts asking for real food.

I don't believe an "expanding jelly pill" would really do much to sate your appetite, LFM, and that's one issue I have with them.

There's a lot more to satiety than simply feeling full. Only when your cells and body tissues are fully nourished will you be truly satisfied. And that can only happen by consuming nutrient-rich foods, not some artificial diet pills.

Sure, you may get away with it for awhile, but it's only a matter of time before the body objects and starts asking for real food.

I understand what you're saying, but that's only assuming one wasn't getting the proper nutrition. Even if someone ate enough nutrition in a day, a healthy balance of carbs, protein,fat, even if someone is getting enough iron, enough calcium, enough of everything, that doesn't change the fact that some people are still hungry.

The pill isn't supposed to replace eating, it's supposed to encourage portion control/ not eating too much.

It's essentially supposed to have the same effect as surgery is.

I doubt that most people packing away very small amounts of calories each day are getting more nutrition than I would get on the "pill" anyways.


Edit: But I suppose in theory drinking a bunch of water would do the same thing.

... that doesn't change the fact that some people are still hungry.

Are you suggesting, LFM, that if a person was eating a healthy balance of carbs, protein,fat,and getting enough iron, enough calcium, enough of everything at maintenance level, they could still be hungry?

If so, why would that be?

I'm not trying to be facetious, I'm just looking for understanding.

The pill isn't supposed to replace eating, it's supposed to encourage portion control/ not eating too much.

True, it doesn't replace eating - only smaller portions.

But therein lies the problem of not getting adequate nutrition if one isn't vigilant.

what do you mean?? yea you can argue w/ me all you want :) I have 2 kids and a hubby i'm used to people disagreeing w/ me, lol

I'm not saying that this option or any WL surgery WILL fail, I'm just saying the problem isnt' that people eat when hungry, but just b/c they are bored or soemthing and the WL surgeries can't help w/ that.Well of course I can argue with you, I didn't mean that I was physically incapable. I just saw no points that I could legitimately argue against in your previous posts.

With that said, I will argue with this post. Weight loss surgeries are successful for some people. If no weight loss surgery was ever successful, they wouldn't be done.

I personally know one girl that had gastric bypass done. She was morbidly obese, diabetic and under 30. She was in serious danger of not being around to raise her children. She had the surgery done several years ago...was very ill at first, but now she is at a healthy weight and is no longer diabetic. She has every reason to believe she will be around to greet her grandchildren now.

Are you suggesting, LFM, that if a person was eating a healthy balance of carbs, protein,fat,and getting enough iron, enough calcium, enough of everything at maintenance level, they could still be hungry?

If so, why would that be?

I'm not trying to be facetious, I'm just looking for understanding.


I am suggesting that. Yes. But my question to you is why couldn't that be the case?


True, it doesn't replace eating - only smaller portions.

But therein lies the problem of not getting adequate nutrition if one isn't vigilant.

Yes, but you get the exact problem with surgery.

My question to you is why would that be the case?

I asked you first. :)

But to answer your question, if a person was eating a nutrient dense diet with plenty of vegetables and fiber, I don't see how they would be hungry at maintenance.

Of course, they might have "phantom" hunger pains if they're coming down from a higher weight, but those aren't real hunger pains.

They just have to learn strategies to cope with them.

They just have to learn strategies to cope with them.

easier said than done often times...

my face is now blue I've saidthis so many times -at my highest weight - I ate healthy - i never ate anythign anyone woudl remotely consider unhealthy -I was always hungry.. and always ate good stuff... phantom hunger or not -they were real to me...

My question to you is why would that be the case?

I asked you first. :)

But to answer your question, if a person was eating a nutrient dense diet with plenty of vegetables and fiber, I don't see how they would be hungry at maintenance.

Of course, they might have "phantom" hunger pains if they're coming down from a higher weight, but those aren't real hunger pains.

They just have to learn strategies to cope with them.

Well it also would depend on the kind of day. For instance someone like myself who has 30-40-30 days (fat, carbs, protein), and eat only foods with high nutrition, and takes multivitamins just incase, etc etc, if I've finished my days eating by 6:30, but stay up until midnight, five and a half hours without eating is long enough to feel hungry again.

It depends completely on circumstances. And while it may work for you not to be hungry after you've gotten all your nutrition, it's not always going to work for others.

Regardless of whether it's an unnecessary hunger, or not, the fact is if people FEEL hungry they are going to want to eat. There is no getting around it.

if a person was eating a healthy balance of carbs, protein,fat,and getting enough iron, enough calcium, enough of everything at maintenance level, they could still be hungry?

If so, why would that be?


if a person was eating a nutrient dense diet with plenty of vegetables and fiber, I don't see how they would be hungry at maintenance.

Unless you define "hungry" as "hasn't consumed enough nutrients (macro and micro) to maintain a healthy weight," I'm not sure why you'd think someone couldn't be hungry in the circumstances you've described.

I'd been eating a fairly reasonable healthy diet - getting more than 100% of the RDA of everything even before my daily multivitamin, 35-40g of fiber a day, lots of veggies, fruits, lean protein and healthy fats, eating at maintenance calories, drinking lots and lots of water. And I was hungry. Swapped out most of my carbs for fat (and I was at about 33% of calories from fat to start off, so I wasn't lacking in fat by any means) so that I wouldn't be so darn hungry all the time. Still getting more than 100% of the RDA of everything even before my daily multivitamin, 35-40g of fiber a day, lots of veggies, fruits, lean protein and healthy fats, eating at maintenance calories, drinking lots and lots of water. Four days later, I find myself hungry once again. I've got about 300 calories left today, and 5 or 6 hours to fill.

Seriously, I am hungrier now maintaining than I was when I was losing.

Since you're asking for a mechanism that might cause such a thing, I'll toss out "evolutionary advantage." When you never know when your next meal will be, eating to maintain your weight makes it more likely that you'll starve and fail to reproduce. Eating to gain makes it more likely that you'll survive and have children. And those of your children who feel hungry even when they've eaten enough to stay on their growth curve, so grow large and fat (or are just strong enough to keep up with the group), are more likely to survive to have children of their own.

So what mechanism do you propose for the body turning down available food that it might need later, just because it doesn't need it at the moment?

Unless you define "hungry" as "hasn't consumed enough nutrients (macro and micro) to maintain a healthy weight," I'm not sure why you'd think someone couldn't be hungry in the circumstances you've described.

I'd been eating a fairly reasonable healthy diet - getting more than 100% of the RDA of everything even before my daily multivitamin, 35-40g of fiber a day, lots of veggies, fruits, lean protein and healthy fats, eating at maintenance calories, drinking lots and lots of water. And I was hungry. Swapped out most of my carbs for fat (and I was at about 33% of calories from fat to start off, so I wasn't lacking in fat by any means) so that I wouldn't be so darn hungry all the time. Still getting more than 100% of the RDA of everything even before my daily multivitamin, 35-40g of fiber a day, lots of veggies, fruits, lean protein and healthy fats, eating at maintenance calories, drinking lots and lots of water. Four days later, I find myself hungry once again. I've got about 300 calories left today, and 5 or 6 hours to fill.

Seriously, I am hungrier now maintaining than I was when I was losing.

Since you're asking for a mechanism that might cause such a thing, I'll toss out "evolutionary advantage." When you never know when your next meal will be, eating to maintain your weight makes it more likely that you'll starve and fail to reproduce. Eating to gain makes it more likely that you'll survive and have children. And those of your children who feel hungry even when they've eaten enough to stay on their growth curve, so grow large and fat (or are just strong enough to keep up with the group), are more likely to survive to have children of their own.

So what mechanism do you propose for the body turning down available food that it might need later, just because it doesn't need it at the moment?


you said it much better than I could have :blush5:

I would try the jelly pill if it were available. It is easy to start a diet and then when you are feeling hungry start to binge on something you shouldn't be having, and then continue down that path from there, losing your grip on the control you were exercising.
Yes there are times we eat that we are not hungry, but it is hunger that will frequently help us fall off the wagon, and anything that can help us stick to it is a good thing in my view.

Yes there are times we eat that we are not hungry, but it is hunger that will frequently help us fall off the wagon, and anything that can help us stick to it is a good thing in my view.

There's a similar product to the one being discussed here that was just released by an MLM company. I won't mention the name of the company in case someone thinks I'm affiliated with them, which I'm not, but the product is called FORM and they describe it this way:

"Each FORM™ capsule contains hundreds of microbeads made from our proprietary, non-toxic, super absorbent polymer called SWELL™ that has been designed to expand 500 to 1,000 times its weight in water when taken as directed. Each FORM™ rapid-acting capsule dissolves within minutes of ingestion. The microbeads absorb the free water and expand to partially fill the stomach; promoting the release of hormones that signal the hunger center in the brain to suppress your appetite."

Tell me, Suz, or anyone for that matter, if you were experiencing hunger pains, do you think popping one of these pills would sate your appetite?

i doubt it..


becuase a lot of the times it's the texture or mouth feel of what i'm eating that satisfied the hunger.. Same reason why slim fast shakes were never satsifying for me...

i doubt it..


becuase a lot of the times it's the texture or mouth feel of what i'm eating that satisfied the hunger.. Same reason why slim fast shakes were never satsifying for me...

Yep. Same here. I had a jaw issue and was on a liquid diet for a week or so. I was getting every possible nutrient and plenty of calories. But all I wanted to do was eat chips or carrots or anything crunchy! Hunger (needing food or at least thinking you need food) is different than cravings (wanting something in particular whether or not you are hungry). Cravings make me over eat more than hunger does. I don't think this pill will satisfy any cravings at all.

So what mechanism do you propose for the body turning down available food that it might need later, just because it doesn't need it at the moment?

lbm maybe?

do you think popping one of these pills would sate your appetite?

It's intended to hit the stretch receptors in your stomach, sending "I'm full" signals to your brain. Same theory as gastric banding. Or swapping out calorically dense food like dried fruit for less-dense food like fresh fruit.

So based on the anecdotes from the people who wander through here saying "I'm morbidly obese because I've eaten way too many calories for years on end, and now that I've switched to less-dense food choices, I can't manage to eat more than 1,000 calories a day because I'm just so full," I suspect they will work, at least in the short term.

After some (likely short) period, your brain catches on to the trick, and you have to try something else. (Which adaptive ability is why diet soda "makes you fat." Your brain figures out pretty quickly that sweet drinks don't necessarily have calories, so assumes that no sweet drinks have calories, just to be on the safe side. )

lbm maybe?

Pounds per meter, huh?

I'm guessing you were actually going for lean body mass, but that's not really a mechanism.

I took 2 of these pills today before lunch. I am completely full. I did eat some cottage cheese and about 12 almonds. I know that this is not a miracle pill. I know that I have to still eat well and exercise but this is the push/help that I needed.

after having experimented with pretty much every diet pill known to man - and every appetite suppresant from the mid 80s to 2000s - that my problem was never eating because i was hungry.. my problem was eating because i wanted to eat.. hunger wasn't a factor.... and for a lot of really obese people -I don't' imagine that's any different...

gotta wonder how some plumbing in older buildings would deal with ssuch a "deposit"

My problem isn't hunger either. It's boredom.