Diet device makes you take smaller bites

Have we no self-control? You have to have a gadget in our mouth to prevent eating too much.

It could help you lose weight -- as long as you actually use it when you eat. The gadget isn't permanently attached, so you can leave it out and wolf down big bites anytime you want. But Scientific Intake believes its DDS System is more palatable than a strict diet or surgery. The company expects to begin selling its devices Wednesday for about $400 apiece. The company's chief executive says he lost 14 pounds simply by wearing it off and on over five months. "Many people today ... eat so quickly their stomach doesn't have a chance to get message to the brain" to stop eating, said CEO William Longley. "This helps slow you down, so you feel satisfied on less food."

Nutritionists agree that the gadget could help, but some were mystified as to why anyone would spend hundreds of dollars for this approach. "You don't need a $500 appliance to do this," said Madelyn Fernstrom, director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said. "It's not a system -- it's simply a physical barrier to eating." A baby spoon could accomplish the same thing, she suggested. And for the money, she said, some people might want to get a personal trainer.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/fitness/articles/2004/05/19/diet_device_makes_you_take_smaller_bites/