A WEIGHT-LOSS tool that uses magnets to stop people from opening their mouths wide enough to eat solid food has been developed by scientists in order to tackle obesity.

The device, developed by medical professionals from the University of Otago in New Zealand and scientists from Leeds in the United Kingdom, can be fitted by dentists and uses magnetic components with locking bolts.

It has been criticized online, however, with people likening it to a medieval torture device.

The University of Otago tweeted that it was “a world-first” weight-loss device “to help fight the global obesity epidemic: an intra-oral device that restricts a person to a liquid diet.”

Called the DentalSlim Diet Control, the device allows its users to open their mouths only 2mm wide. Initially, it was trialed on seven otherwise healthy obese women from Dunedin in New Zealand for two weeks, who were given a low-calorie liquid diet. An article published in the British Dental Journal reported that the group of women lost a mean amount of 6.36 kg — about 5.1 percent of their body weight.

But participants complained that the device was hard to use, causing discomfort with their speech. They said they felt tense and that “life in general was less satisfying.”

Paul Brunton from the University of Otago said the main barrier that stopped weight loss was “compliance.” He said that the tool helped to establish new habits that could kickstart the process.

(SD-Agencies)