text_1: Scarless weight-loss surgery: pacemaker for your hunger
text_2: This TV segment focuses on an experimental obesity treatment: vagal blocking (VBLOC). The treatment involves implanting an electrical device which intermittently blocks the vagus nerve, which is involved with feelings of hunger and satiety. The segment does a few things well:   It introduces a patient who, one month into the therapy, has had promising but not spectacular results. It repeatedly mentions that the procedure is experimental, not yet available and unapproved for use in the U.S. It makes clear that VBLOC appears to be less effective than gastric bypass surgery, with possible weight loss of 20 percent at six months compared to 50 percent for bypass. But the segment could have been stronger:   It should have included at least one fully independent expert who could put the technique into perspective It should have provided more detail about the state and quality of the research upon which the promising results are based It should have emphasized the potential harms of the treatment, not the least of which is that it might not work for some people. For a treatment with a price tag of $15,000 to $20,000, that’s a significant risk. It’s worth noting that the host and reporter at the end of the piece discuss the fact that controlling physiological hunger is itself not a complete solution. People overeat for many reasons, including emotional ones. This is a responsible way to end the piece–with the thought that VBLOC may eventually be a useful treatment, but not a complete cure for obesity. But the piece also raises a larger question: Is it responsible to report on the VBLOC technique at this time? The current trial is on a small number of people. A larger trial has begun, but none of the data have been peer-reviewed or published. It may have been more prudent to wait until the research is published (if indeed it will be) before doing a story on this obesity treatment.