Human poo tablet could fight obesity, scientists say

Hard pill to swallow: Scientists think they might be able to fight obesity using a tablet containing human POO

  • A new ‘magic pill’ out of New Zealand is prepared to revolutionise weight loss 
  • It contains human faeces, with healthy bacteria lodging itself in the taker’s gut
  • The pill is in its trial phase, with testing due to conclude at the end of 2019
  • The program is targeting adolescents who are deemed to be overweight

The number one answer for weight loss could be full of number twos.

Revolutionary new research out of New Zealand has seen the trial of a ‘magic pill’, which is the newest alternative to diet and exercise when it comes to losing weight.

If the trial is successful at the end of 2019, its program director believes the pill could help millions of people.

The only catch is, it contains human faeces.

A New Zealand research company believes the key to solving obesity is a pill (pictured) containing faeces

The New Zealand research facility is trialling the pills on four overweight adolescents.

The scientists’ aim is to see if the faeces of a fit person could alter the gut microbiome of an overweight person.


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The idea is that faecal bacteria taken from a healthy person will lodge itself in the gut of an overweight person, and ‘scavenge’ calories from their waste.

In turn, this will help them lose weight.

Trial director Wayne Cutfield (pictured) says a successful program could help millions

The idea behind the trial (pictured) will see bacteria from a healthy person’s stool lodge itself in the gut of an obese person, salvaging calories and resulting in weight loss

Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at the Liggins Institute, Wayne Cutfield, told Stuff the bacteria is strained and sieved to get rid of the unsanitary waste.

‘We clean the bacteria up and put them in capsules so they’re completely odourless,’ he says.

There isn’t a regular dosage either, with one pill expected to last at least six months.

The Liggins Institute is running the trial on national television in a three-part series called The Good S***.

The series follows four teenage girls who were determined to be overweight using their Body Mass Index.

The trial is being run on four New Zealand adolescents (pictured), who are deemed overweight by their body mass index rating

The institute decided to conduct the study on adolescents since their rate of obesity is high in New Zealand.

More than one in three New Zealand residents over the age of 15 are overweight.

Alofa, one of the participants, joined the study when she realised she wanted to make a lifestyle change. 

‘One of my family members had a wedding coming up and I was like “jeez, what are the photos going to look like?” That, and it was getting really expensive plus-size shopping.’

The trial is expected to conclude at the end of 2019.

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