Oct 31, 2008 11:26 pm US/Eastern
Product Aims To Satisfy Hunger To Help Lose Weight
DENVER (CBS) ―
There are now products on the market that claim to satisfy hunger and help people lose weight.
Protein water, special oatmeal, satisfying smoothies -- companies are cashing in on hunger management. In the first quarter of 2008, 42 products were launched to make people feel fuller, longer.
There are shakes, cereal bars and even shots. It's a trend in society called "satiety" -- feeling full to the point of satisfaction.
Cheryl Badger is a fan of a product called FullBar. She ate them post pregnancies. Thirty minutes before meals, she'd have a FullBar and a big glass of water. She says it kept her from overeating.
"I lost 14 pounds the first time and the second time I lost just over 10," Badger said.
She got in on the development stages of FullBar because she knows the inventor, Denver bariatric surgeon Dr. Michael Snyder.
"This is not a magic bullet; it's a simple tool that's very effective," Snyder said.
It took Snyder about 4 years and 50 formulas to come up with the chewy puffed wheat and nut bars. He says eating one with water mimics the benefits of gastric bypass, stretching the stomach, which then messages the brain.
"It's all about making your brain feel full," Snyder said.
Registered dietitian Kim Gorman says FullBar is nutritionally sound. She likes the simple diet strategy, but at about $2.50 a piece, she shopped around.
"I absolutely agree with the principles," Gorman said. "I would call this an expensive snack."
Gorman found a more affordable option.
"This was just something kind of off the shelf," Gorman said of a generic oats and honey fiber bar. "It's a no-namer bar; it was just .40 cents per bar."
Snyder doesn't believe you can substitute.
"What we found in our clinical trial; people lost 42 percent of their excess body weight in 3 months of use," he said. "I don't know any bar you can buy off the shelf that has been used that effectively."
Snyder says FullBar is popular. Since March they've sold 2 million bars online and at GNC stores. He's gearing up for a big boost in sales in the next 6 months when FullBar joins other "fullness factor foods" on the shelves of major retailers.
Additional ResourcesFor more information, go to the
FullBar Web site.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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