It's not a magic bullet for obesity. But a new retainer-like
device that keeps people from scarfing down food faster than the
gut can signal to the brain, "I'm getting full, stop eating,"
has proven safe and effective in a new study. The custom-fitted
device is popped in the upper palate only while eating. Its
purpose, as described in the study by Australian researchers, is
to "displace oral volume," thereby forcing people to take
smaller bites and chew their food more thoroughly and slowly
before swallowing. Essentially, it's a mechanical way of getting
people to do what their mothers always told them to do: Slow
down. The device, called SMART (or "sensor monitored alimentary
restriction therapy," itself a mouthful) was invented by a woman
with a condition called torus palatinus, where bony protrusions
that can grow from barely there, to the size of a ping-pong ball
cut in half forms on the roof of the mouth. Not only was she
thin, but also she was always the last person to finish eating
because of her reduc