New technologies and advances in weight loss therapy.

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity and its comorbidities but there are barriers that prevent its general acceptance. The growing obesity epidemic has resulted in the need for the creation of new, less invasive treatments, with a wide margin of safety and effectiveness for conditioning weight loss, at least greater than that resulting from treatment based on diet and exercise. Emerging therapies include devices that are endoscopically placed and removed, classified as: space-occupying devices, restrictive or anatomic-remodeling procedures, endoluminal bypass, and duodenal mucosal resurfacing. Percutaneous techniques and less invasive surgeries are also included. In general, results have shown improvement in glucose metabolism in diabetic patients. With respect to weight loss, results do not surpass those of bariatric surgery, but are better than results with conservative treatment (diet and exercise) and have a low rate of adverse events. Clinical use of a new technique should be carried out within a multidisciplinary management program that includes nutritional, psychologic, physical activity, and medical support. It must be understood that novel therapies are not being created to substitute bariatric surgery, but rather to increase treatment options in the general population, with greater reach and impact. The aim of the present study was to provide an up-to-date literature review on emerging technologies for the treatment of obesity.

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