Similar devices have been used for decades to induce feelings of fullness but intragastric balloons [IGBs] have required painful endoscopy and sedation.
It means they are used infrequently and at high cost.
However, breakthrough tests on a new device known as the Elipse Balloon on obese volunteers appear to show it works in helping people shed a third of their body weight in as little as four months.
All participants had failed to lose weight through dieting alone and previously refused IGBs.
At the start of the study the average weight of 42 volunteers was 110 kg [17.3st] and their BMI was 39.
After 16 weeks the average weight loss was 15.2 kg [2.3st] or 31 per cent while BMI was slashed by 4.9.
Scientists at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, who tested the pioneering equipment reported no serious adverse events but noted significant reductions in diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Dr Roberta Lenca, who led the study, said: “The Elipse Balloon appears to be a safe and effective weight loss method.
“Because it does not require endoscopy, surgery or anaesthesia this may make it suitable for a larger population of obese patients not responding to diet or lifestyle treatment and also for use by a variety of clinicians who currently do not have access to or are qualified to fit endoscopic or surgical weight loss devices.
“Furthermore, the absence of endoscopy and anaesthesia for placement and removal can lead to significant cost savings.”
The balloon was swallowed under fluoroscopy and then filled with 550ml of liquid.
It remains in the stomach for 16 weeks after which it spontaneously opens, empties and is excreted.
Once it was excreted patients were told to follow a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, vegetables, olive oil and nuts to maintain weight loss.
Dr Simon Cork, of the department of investigative medicine at Imperial College, London, said: “Currently gastric balloons have to be inserted under general anaesthetic or sedation.
“This not only limits the number of patients who can have them implanted, but also increases surgery time and has significant costs associated with it.
“The introduction of a device which doesn’t require surgery to implant is a positive step forward.”
Dr Ian Campbell, a weight loss expert and family GP from Nottingham, said: “The initial 16 week weight loss results are encouraging and slightly above what you would expect in a standard weight loss programme but show me the two year data and I’ll be able to advise my patients whether it is something they should consider.
“My other concern is it does nothing to combat psychological and emotional causes of obesity and this in my experience is where the answer lies for the majority of my patients.”
The findings were due to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Porto, Portugal, today.
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