If you’re in the middle of eating lunch, you should probably stop reading this story. Health officials in the U.S. approved a quirky new weight loss device called AspireAssist that vacuums food right out of the stomach before meals are digested.
It’s incredibly controversial: while it’s meant to help those grappling with obesity, critics have called it “assisted bulimia.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the device, called AspireAssist, on Tuesday. Surgeons insert a tube in the stomach via a small incision in the abdomen. Then, a “skin-port” about the size of a poker chip is installed – that’s where users attach an external tube to flush food after mealtime.
