British Medical Journal: Mandometer used in Swedish program helps obese children lose weight

Jan 6 2010

The British Medical Journal released today a report on a study conducted in Bristol, United Kingdom, that found that a breakthrough Swedish program using a computerized device called "Mandometer"® was significantly more successful than standard treatment at helping obese children and adolescents lose weight, reduce meal size and decrease their body fat.

The innovative program focuses on retraining eating behavior, along with educating patients about nutrition and increasing physical activity.

Their previous research revealed that obese people tend to eat at an increased rate and do not recognize satiety, regardless of the amount of food they ingest, a situation leading to overeating.

The Mandometer® was developed by Cecilia Bergh, Ph.D., and Per Sodersten, Ph.D., two researchers at the world-renowned Swedish academic health center, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The device is a portable electronic scale connected to a small computer that can generate a graphic representation of a patient's eating rate during a meal. With the help of feedback from the Mandometer®, patients learn to eat normally by adapting the normal eating speed and development of satiety of normal-weight individuals that is also shown on the Mandometer(®) screen.

Health care workers at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children learned about this revolutionary treatment and asked to conduct a study comparing the outcomes of that new treatment to the outcomes of their standard weight-loss protocol. The result of that study is the basis of the report in today's British Medical Journal.

The Mandometer® method is revolutionary because it ignores the standard approaches for treatment of eating disorders and obesity, focusing instead on eating behavior rather than on psychological issues. Its outcomes have been dramatically successful, resulting in a growing worldwide demand for the services provided by Mandometer® clinics.