New therapy could help millions of people lose weight

NBC's Deanna Lites reporting It's a battle more and more people worldwide are fighting: the struggle to lose weight.

Now a Boston area hospital has hope for the more than 400 million people around the world who are obese.

It's no surprise that obesity is a huge health problem. According to Dr. Scott Shikora, a bariatric surgeon, "Sixty-seven percent of Americans are overweight or obese. In some states, it's one of three."

Obesity can lead to a whole host of problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and sleep apnea.

Some patients have turned to surgery to help them lose weight. "Last year in the United States we performed approximately 200,000 procedures, which is the most we've done in the history of the field," said Shikora.

Shikora says many others who could benefit are not having these procedures because they are concerned about complications.

Now some doctors are hoping a small device will help people who suffer from obesity.

Doctors at Tufts New England Medical Center are one of a handful of centers around the country taking part in a new study using VBLOC therapy for weight loss.

The idea is to control the vagus nerves, which help regulate the sense of hunger and fullness in the brain. In a minimally invasive procedure, a pacemaker-like device is implanted in the patient with electrodes going to the vagus nerves.

The device can be turned off and on with an external control by the patient.

"Patients don't feel the same hunger, don't have the same need to eat the size portions that they did prior to the device being activated," Shikora said.

And in the end lead to the desired weight loss. Shikora said, "New technology like the VBLOC have come along and offer patients the potential for the good results with dramatically less complications."

For more information on the study, click on the related link.