FROM trendy fad diets to drastic measures like gastric bypasses and “fat jabs”, Brits are relentless in their quest to shed the pounds.
Now there is a new “miracle” solution on the horizon, and it could be as simple as swallowing a pill.
Sounds too good to be true? Maybe, but NHS trials are underway.
The small but mighty Allurion capsule takes just 15 minutes to fit, inflating inside the stomach to engulf 60 per cent of the space.
It can be fitted during an outpatient appointment with no need for a camera down the throat, anaesthetic, hospital bed or theatre time — making it better for the patient and cheaper for the NHS.
Four months after it is fitted, the balloon deflates and leaves the body naturally, by which point patients can expect to have shed ten to 15 per cent of their body weight.
While it might not sound like a colossal transformation, Professor Rishi Singhal, medical director at The Gastric Balloon Group, tells Sun Health it’s “life-changing” for patients.
They include Tracey McLaren, a 43-year-old pharmacy technician from Oldham, and Adam Remington, a 54-year-old from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, who works in the finance sector.
Tracey lost 4st 5lb after having the Allurion balloon last April, and says: “I’ve got a new lease of life.”
Adam, who had two balloons between May 2022 and April 2023, lost 6st and has kept 4st off.
He says: “It is like having a baby because you’ve got this thing inside you that you need to look after.”
Allurion, the company that makes the pill, says it is in talks with NHS trusts regarding a rollout.
Two patients have already shown promising results at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, where a dozen more are waiting in line.
While the NHS explores the best use for the balloon, it has been used privately at a cost of around £4,000 per pop since 2020, when it was approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
So far, Prof Rishi’s clinic has helped around 2,000 people lose weight. Current licensing rules mean anyone with a BMI over 30 is eligible, and Prof Rishi says: “That would mean 25 per cent of the UK’s population would be eligible immediately.
“A BMI of 30 at 25 years old might be fine, but when you’re 50 years old, that’s when you can start developing health conditions.” Around 64 per cent of adults are classed as obese or overweight, costing the NHS £6.1billion a year.
Adam had high blood pressure and worsening back pain due to his weight.
He “spent his life in jogging bottoms” because clothes were so uncomfortable on his 22st 7lb body — and he feared his 18-year-old daughter Erika was embarrassed by him.
But after seeing a picture of himself in Turkey in May 2022, he recalls: “I was so disgusted, I decided to take a picture a year later in the same outfit.
“I’ve done everything, but I only seem to lose a couple of stones and then it all comes back on again. So I was looking to do something drastic.”
Tracey had also seen her weight yo-yo all her adult life, but things got worse during Covid. She says: “I reached 16st 9lb by the time I thought, ‘enough was enough’.
“I wanted to live my life. I loved travelling but my weight felt like a barrier.
“When you’re that big and you think, ‘I need to lose five stone’, it seems unachievable.”
Allurion is not the first gastric balloon, but older models rely on an endoscopy, where a camera is put into the stomach, and they had to be removed under sedation.
“Allurion is quite special in the way that it does not require either,” Prof Rishi says.
“The patient can just walk into the clinic, they don’t even have to change their clothes, so it is less intimidating. They can drive home.”
There is a slight catch, however. The pill is attached to a tube to allow a medic to fill the balloon with water.
Adam tells Sun Health: “That was traumatic for me, but we managed to get it in.
“It takes about seven minutes to fill this thing up and it’s the size of a grapefruit. I remember getting in the lift afterwards and I felt like I’d had a roast dinner.”
For three days after the procedure, patients are warned they may experience nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting.
Adam says he felt so horrendous he “wanted to die”, while Tracey said she went through “hell”.
But, when the worst is over, patients can start on a liquid diet then slowly move on to solid foods.
That is when nutritional coaching comes in, with recipes, a food diary and help and advice via an app.
Prof Rishi says: “The balloon reduces the capacity of the stomach, how much you can eat, and how hungry you feel.
“It also slows down gastric emptying. As a result, you start losing weight.”
Adam says he did not feel hungry as he watched the weight drop off.
He swapped his diet of bacon sandwiches, endless packets of crisps and biscuits for lean fish and vegetables, and quit alcohol for a year. Bread, pasta and rice are often demonised in diets and it is no different with the Allurion balloon.
These foods can stick to the balloon, instead of sliding around it, which may cause side effects such as smelly burps or acid reflux.
In addition, Adam says: “You can’t force food down quickly because you have to give it time to slip around the balloon, otherwise it will just come back up your food pipe.”
Patients are taught to take smaller mouthfuls and 20-second gaps between bites to stretch mealtimes out to at least 20 minutes.
“That’s a very common technique to use for weight loss,” Prof Rishi says. “It takes 20 minutes for the brain to realise we are eating.”
Tracey, who admits she used to eat enough for two people, says: “What it does is allow you to focus on eating smaller meals.
“As the weight starts to decrease and you increase your activity, that works alongside it and your weight drops even further.”
One of the big misconceptions of obesity is the idea that it is just caused by “eating too much”.
In reality, the root causes are multifaceted and not always within a person’s control.
Prof Rishi points out that as well as mental health and even your postcode, “there’s a huge genetic element with obesity”.
He says: “Some people can eat a bit and feel full, others eat the same amount and don’t feel full at all. That’s because their hormones are working differently.”
Research suggests people who are obese are less sensitive to leptin, a hormone that tells the brain the stomach is full, and more sensitive to ghrelin, a hormone that drives hunger.
It is no wonder it can feel like everything is working against you when you go on a diet.
Prof Rishi says: “Dieting on its own doesn’t work, it’s very difficult.”
The same is true of the balloon. It requires patients to adhere to a healthy eating plan while learning about the psychological triggers that cause them to overeat. Prof Rishi adds: “Now that you are feeling full, you can address those behaviours.
“If you don’t feel full, it would be a very difficult sensation to fight.”
After eating smaller portions for four months, Tracey says “psychologically” she saw a smaller plate as filling.
She adds: “It’s a really good dietary tool to get you eating better, moving more and making positive changes to your health that you can continue with.
“I would never consider surgery because I did not want long-term adaptations to my body. I want to feel in control but I needed help.
“I like the activity of eating, it’s pleasurable, it’s social.
“I tried skinny jabs before [but] they take away your appetite. That didn’t sit well with me either.
“I wanted to be able to eat in moderation and get back on my feet independently.”
Adam was able to challenge his overeating, caused by feeling bored or depressed. He says: “I just couldn’t stop eating. I still love food. But I’ve learned that if you’re hungry, distract yourself by going for a walk or do some DIY.”
So do patients feel hungry again after the balloon passes through their system?
Yes, say Tracey and Adam. Everything they had learnt was put to the test.
Losing weight is hard but keeping it off is arguably harder, and the success of a diet largely depends on how sustainable it is.
Prof Rishi says: “There’s a lot of worry about regaining all the weight once the balloon comes out.
“But we’ve seen 90 to 95 per cent of the weight loss is maintained a year after. It is a huge morale boost that, ‘I can actually do it’.”
When Tracey’s balloon came out on the first day of her holiday, in August 2023, she was “traumatised” with worry. She says: “I was one of those people who could put on 14lb at an all-inclusive holiday. But I came home with only a 1lb gain. I thought, ‘Right, I can do this. I’ve just done it’.”
Tracey lost 3st 4lb with the balloon, reaching 13st 5lb. Afterwards, she lost a further stone in four months, going from a size 18 to a 12.
Her portion sizes have naturally increased but she maintains her weight by going to the gym up to four times a week.
She says: “I’ve lost so many years, hiding away from photographs.
“When you’re overweight, you are a different person. I wasn’t depressed, but it’s a cloud that hangs over you. I’ve got two children and a stepson and you’ve got to live your life and be around for them because it’s just self-sabotage.
“My kids say, ‘Mum, you look so good.’ My partner says I’ve done amazing, they’re so proud.
“When I go on holiday I can wear clothes I want to, wear a bikini and not feel self-conscious.”
Though he has put on 2st since his balloon came out in April 2023, Adam’s blood pressure is within the normal range.
Previously he was unable to stand for more than ten minutes, which prevented him DJing, a hobby he’d loved for 17 years.
Now he aims for 10,000 steps and up to 40 minutes of cycling per day.
His partner of seven years, Debbie, 55, says: “He was happier and more excited about life when the weight was coming off. He was comfortable in how he looked.”
But Tracey cautions it was not an “easy option”, adding: “If you think this is going to fix it all and it’s magic, it isn’t.”
Prof Rishi says: “There is no operation that can cause weight loss for life unless you are willing to make a change with it.”
Adam, who paid for two balloons, says: “I had six grand sitting in my belly. You can’t cheat. Because if you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself and the balloon.”
Of course, sticking to the rules is easier when you’ve paid several thousand pounds for it, so only time will tell how NHS patients will fare.
