A university is getting absolutely destroyed on Twitter (as they fucking should be), for developing a new “weight loss tool” that is basically just a fancy mouth trap which wires your jaw shut so you can’t eat. Yes, it really is that fucked.
The University of Otago in New Zealand tweeted a picture of the absolutely fucking demented product, because for some reason they thought Twitter might actually like a device designed to stop the natural human practice of eating.
Otago and UK researchers have developed a world-first weight-loss device to help fight the global obesity epidemic: an intra-oral device that restricts a person to a liquid diet. Read more: https://t.co/eLhXwipiqs pic.twitter.com/Of6v3uvVbX
— University of Otago (@otago) June 28, 2021
The device, developed by medical professionals from the University of Otago and scientists from Leeds in the UK, would have to be fitted by dentists, and uses magnetic components with locking bolts to wire your jaw shut so that it can only open 2mm – just enough for you to consume liquids.
Somebody explain to me how the fuck these people thought this was a good idea? I mean, in a world where eating disorders and fatphobia are engrained into every aspect of society, we hardly need more encouragement for unhealthy weight loss practices.
As someone who spent all of their teenaged years skipping meals to be skinny, and whose two best friends both had serious forms of disordered eating, this just feels irresponsible and dangerous.
Not to mention the design is hardly as visionary as it is pretending to be – the twisted practice of Wiring Your Jaw Shut has been a thing for decades.
Fuck’s sake – there was a period 40 or 50 yrs ago when they wired people’s jaws together to achieve weight loss but they abandoned it because as soon as it was removed there was weight regain. This is just an iteration of wiring jaws shut
— Where do the minerals come from for the EV future? (@suavelyunsubtle) June 28, 2021
Fortunately, Twitter has been calling out the device for being as fucked up as it is, and honestly, it’s times like this that I love the internet. Awww, look at us all coming together to dunk on a common enemy. We love to see it.
Delete this. Delete the research team. Delete everything.
— Dr. Raven the Science Maven (@ravenscimaven) June 28, 2021
I’ve developed a world-first device to stop you from tweeting some shit like this again pic.twitter.com/fLOdenuq0M
— Yell in a War (@jelenawoehr) June 28, 2021
Brilliant, I’d like to submit my idea for a device to help short people be taller. pic.twitter.com/5WYp26VbJ3
— Ika Makimaki (fish monkey) (@pezmico) June 28, 2021
a holistic solution to obesity that focuses on its socio-economic roots and promotes access (time, cost, etc) to healthy, sustainable diets? no, let’s bolt fatties’ mouths shut and put them on a forced juice cleanse!
— Katjo Buissink ✏️ (@proletarikat) June 28, 2021
“Nevertheless, all the participants got accustomed to the device during the treatment period and were able to work effectively in their usual employment.”
Well, at least the torture device didn’t stop them from contributing to capitalism. I mean, that would be bad.
— Dr. Sara Leiste (@SaraFeistiness) June 28, 2021
I can’t imagine how mortifying it would be to wear this thing. Sorry, I’m a fat person so I’m unable to talk, brush my teeth, sneeze, cough?!
— Platinum Pixie (@platinumpixienz) June 28, 2021
You’d think that the Twitter backlash would awaken whoever runs this Twitter to the fact that maybe this was A Bad Idea, but instead the account just keeps putting its foot in its mouth by continually trying to justify why we need this technology.
After two or three weeks they can have the magnets disengaged and device removed. They could then have a period with a less restricted diet and then go back into treatment. This would allow for a phased approach to weight loss supported by advice from a dietician.
— University of Otago (@otago) June 28, 2021
The University of Otago Twitter account tweeted a clarification that actually, the device isn’t intended as a “quick or long-term weight-loss tool; rather it is aimed to assist people who need to undergo surgery and who cannot have the surgery until they have lost weight.”
I’m sorry, forgive me if I am mistaken, but doesn’t that still make this a tool for people who need to lose weight? Therefore making it a weight loss tool? Like, you can frame it however you want, but it’s clear that the tool is designed for weight loss, and it doesn’t matter which individuals specifically it’s for – this is just another tool that exists in the world to further push the idea of starving as a way to lose weight, and it’s not fucking okay.
People were not having a bar of this half-assed back track, bless them, with one person coming in with the receipts.
Ah fuck, sorry, guess I was confused by this bit of your press release which says the opposite of that pic.twitter.com/gfrss9p9ku
— Hayden Donnell (@HaydenDonnell) June 28, 2021
And this, friends, is why ethics is important in science – because apparently, it’s really easy to accidentally invent medieval torture devices that are designed to punish fatness and encourage disordered eating. Fucking yikes.
