Device forces dieters to take smaller bites

ATLANTA – It’s hard enough to diet. The latest dieting gimmick makes you go to the dentist, too.

An Atlanta company plans to begin selling a dental device that fits in your mouth and forces you to take smaller bites.

Scientific Intake believes its DDS System is more palatable than a strict diet or surgery. The company plans to sell its devices for about $400 apiece.

The company’s chief executive says he lost 14 pounds simply by wearing it off and on over five months.

Nutritionists agree that the DDS 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.