Will the New Gastric Condom Make Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Obsolete?

Watch this short video about how the Gastric Condom works and start researching this new option that may be on the market in the next couple years.

The Baby Boomers always do it larger-than-life. Now that they've reached middle age, they've become the fattest generation to ever walk the earth. Type 2 diabetes and obesity will bankrupt the healthcare system unless we find a way to cure them of their diseases of over indulgence.

We all know it's a simple formula: eat less, burn more calories. But that doesn't mean most boomers are going to do that without a lot of help.

Willpower is obviously not a workable option for most.

Bariatric surgery is the current popular option but it's limited to those who can tolerate surgery and afford it. Plus, it's a permanent alteration of the digestive system with a host of complications. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, about 220,000 people (of the 15 MILLION with a BMI of over 40) in the US had gastric surgery for weight loss in 2008.

Now, the Gastric Condom is coming. It creates a temporary barrier to food absorption allows users to lose weight quickly and reversing their type 2 diabetes. The EndoBarrier, from GI Dynamics, is an impermeable sleeve that lines the first 60 cm of the small intestine. In animal experiments and preliminary human trials, it reduces weight and rapidly brings type 2 diabetes under control.

The entire process takes less than half an hour, and the EndoBarrier can also be removed in less than 10 minutes by tugging on a drawstring to collapse the attachment device and pull out the spikes. The EndoBarrier is then pulled back out though the mouth. Around 150 people have tested the device.

The total cost of the EndoBarrier, including installation and removal, will be around $7500. This compares to $15,000 or more for inserting a gastric band, or at least $20,000 for a gastric bypass.