The Obalon balloon system, a new treatment that involves swallowing balloon-filled capsules to curb overeating.

“The balloon treatment helped them eat less, but they were also learning to make healthier choices through the support provided with the program,” says study author Aurora Pryor, MD, director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook University in New York.

The combination of lifestyle modification and balloon therapy does provide a “New and low-risk option for patients struggling with obesity,” says Dr. Pryor.

“A few patients said that after the third balloon was inserted that they could feel it; that it made them feel pregnant,” says Dr. Pryor.

“There is no magic pill for obesity, but this swallowable balloon and other intragastric balloons may offer new hope to people who otherwise would not seek treatment or not have as good a result with diet and exercise alone,” said Dr. Rosenthal in a press release.

Eclipse ia another swallowable balloon that is also in clinical trials for weight loss, but has not yet been approved by the FDA. There are two balloon devices currently on the market known as ReShape and Orbera, but both require an endoscopy for insertion as well as removal.

“You can easily have a balloon put in and go to work the same day with Obalon, which you wouldn’t be able to do with the other two,” says Dr. Pryor.