Anti-Obesity Medical Devices

Abstract

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide responsible for increased mor-bidity/mortality and high cost for the society. Management of obesity requires multidisciplinary approaches including diet, food supplement, exercise, behavior change, drug, medical device, gut microbiome manipulation, and surgery. Antiobesity medical devices are an option for subjects who have not responded to more conservative medical treatments but want an alternative to surgery. Compared to bariatric surgery, they have the advantage of being less invasive, easier to perform, and reversible. In the United States of America (USA), based on the expected weight loss, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorizes anti-obesity medical devices as weight-loss devices or weight-management devices. The weight-loss devices include gastric band devices, gastric space-occupying devices, and gastric emptying devices. The weight-management devices include oral removable palatal space-occupying devices and ingested transient gastric space-occupying devices. The effectiveness, safety, and cost of anti-obesity medical devices vary considerably by the type of medical device. Their use should always be combined with lifestyle changes. Considering the large market size of obesity treatment, anti-obesity medical devices can play a major role in the management of obesity.