A new computerised device that tracks portion size and how fast people eat is more successful in helping obese children and adolescents lose weight than standard treatments, according to research in the BMJ.
The Mandometer device, a portable computerised weighing scale, was developed at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. It helps to retrain individuals to eat less and more slowly by providing real-time feedback during meal times.
The device plots a graph showing the rate at which food actually disappears from the plate, compared to the ideal graph programmed in by a food therapist.
Researchers at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and the University of Bristol, led by Prof Julian Hamilton-Shield, carried out a randomised controlled trial of 106 obese patients aged between 9 and 17 years.
One group of participants received Mandometer therapy to lose weight and the other were provided with standard care. Both groups were encouraged to increase their levels of physical activity to 60 minutes of exercise a day and to eat a balanced diet based on the UK Food Standards Agency ‘eat well plate’.
Participants were assessed after 12 months and followed up at 18 months. After a year, the Mandometer group not only had a significantly lower average body mass index and body fat score than the standard care group, but their portion size was smaller and their speed of eating was reduced by 11 per cent compared with a gain of 4 per cent in the other group.
Levels of ‘good cholesterol’ were also significantly higher in the Mandometer group.
“Mandometer therapy, focusing on eating speed and meal size, seems to be a useful addition to the rather sparse options available for treating adolescent obesity effectively without recourse to pharmacotherapy,” said the authors.
BMJ 2009;340:b5388.
About Greg Baxter
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