Author Topic: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology  (Read 8192 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 37626
  • Country: au
    • EEVblog
MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« on: August 10, 2017, 02:34:56 pm »
I smell some research that has potentially morphed into marketing :bullshit:
When you have two marketing people on your team, it kinda gives it away.
As does the video when the guy says "We are delighted by these initial results, and can't wait to see how effective it will be when combined with some lifestyle changes" Then in the next clip say they are so confident that they offer a 100% money back guarantee  :palm:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/modius-groundbreaking-fat-reduction-technology-fitness-health#/
 

Offline hermit

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 482
  • Country: us
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2017, 02:57:57 pm »
"We are delighted by these initial results, and can't wait to see how effective it will be when combined with some lifestyle changes"
This is usually followed by the 1500 calorie a day intake limit disclaimer.
 

Offline vodka

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 518
  • Country: es
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2017, 03:21:55 pm »
So , the  Dr McKeown's photo speaks too. I believe that is a FAKE.  I weighed 80 kg for 4 years old and today i am on 62 kg.  i haven't this fit like the McKeown muscleman(Steroid and hormones) :horse:, i only am fibrous, bones and skins  :-DD.
Now , I find it hard to believe that stimulate the hippocampus this directly related with the  lost weight, unless it reduces the anxiety for eating.
 

Offline Cerebus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 10576
  • Country: gb
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2017, 03:45:27 pm »
No, that looks like a fit, fatish bloke who already exercises who has then lost some weight. The 'before' looks a bit like me - I've got a six pack, it's just hiding under an inch of blubber.

What I find suspicious in all this is the absence of any upfront citations of research papers. There's a lot of 'this academic says this' and 'that academic says that' but no 'here's the published peer reviewed papers that prove we're not charlatans'.
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 

Offline thm_w

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 6231
  • Country: ca
  • Non-expert
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2017, 12:02:34 am »
You can find more information here: https://www.modiushealth.com/science/
They link to the study (18 people, 8% average reduction in abdominal fat): http://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2017/06/23/087692.full.pdf

Sounds like some big differences compared to TDCS:

Quote
VESTIBULAR NERVE STIMULATION (VENS)
• Non-invasive technique to activate vestibular apparatus by passing current through skin overlying mastoid processes, with known good safety profile
• Causes a sensation of swaying, or dysequilibrium, like being on a boat
• The experimental subjects underwent binaural AC VeNS at 0.5Hz as tolerated up to 1mA; this should preferentially activate the otoliths and sympathetic activity
• All stimulation sessions lasted an hour, with no more than one a day

I would be surprised if everyone can handle 1hr of "boat like swaying" every day. That is quite a task to ask from people who can't control their dietary intake.

Also their study is completely misrepresented, its actually 3 studies totaling 18 people. The 8% fat loss study only included 9 people, 3 of which were controls:

Quote
The treatment group had: 3 females and 3 males; a median age of 23 years (range 21 to 64); and a median BMI of 33.8 (range 25.4 to 50.2). The control group had: 2 females and 1 male; a median age of 23 years (range 19 to 64); and a median BMI of 28.7 (range 25.3 to 34.7)

I don't doubt that 8% loss is feasible with 16 weeks of 1hr treatment per day, considering you could probably walk for 1hr, or do 1hr of dietary planning, etc. and get similar results.
But good luck to whoever buys this.
Profile -> Modify profile -> Look and Layout ->  Don't show users' signatures
 

Offline Cerebus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 10576
  • Country: gb
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2017, 12:34:39 am »
Oh goodness me. Without going into the numbers (single digit groups!?!), a "treatment" that, to me anyway, sounds like simulated seasickness caused people to lose weight?

Stick any randomly chosen group of fatties ("median BMI of 33.8 (range 25.4 to 50.2)"*) on a sea trip on a small trawler and see who doesn't lose weight, either from doing some useful work or from 'cookie tossing'.

Ye gods, I know that us more, ahem, generously proportioned individuals would like to find an easy way to lose weight but surely there's a better way than what is, for better or worse, basically induced seasickness.

*Your author, no sylph, is probably at the bottom end of those BMI figures.
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 37626
  • Country: au
    • EEVblog
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2017, 07:30:57 am »
So , the  Dr McKeown's photo speaks too. I believe that is a FAKE.

I won't say he faked it, I'm fairly sure he didn't, but I'm totally unconvinced it's due to his doo-dad machine.
But as an aside, it's trivial to fake before/after photos. Two methods are common, one is just simple lighting and posture, and the other is to take the after photo before you take the "before" photo, and simply spend all day binging out on food drink and making yourself look bloated. Bingo, 6 pack gone in 8 hours.

 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 37626
  • Country: au
    • EEVblog
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2017, 07:34:53 am »
I don't doubt that 8% loss is feasible with 16 weeks of 1hr treatment per day, considering you could probably walk for 1hr, or do 1hr of dietary planning, etc. and get similar results.

And that's the rub. Even if it did something the other stuff is important, probably more so.
It will always ultimately come down to calories consumed vs calories burned.

 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 37626
  • Country: au
    • EEVblog
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2017, 07:37:26 am »
What I find suspicious in all this is the absence of any upfront citations of research papers. There's a lot of 'this academic says this' and 'that academic says that' but no 'here's the published peer reviewed papers that prove we're not charlatans'.

Even their expert peer (who they worked for it seems, so have a personal relationship with) who they quote in the campaign was very cautious about what he said and kept his skepticism hat on a bit.
I bet they asked him to write a testimonial and then were disappointed that is sounded a tad skeptical  :-DD but they had to run with it anyway.
 

Offline Cyberdragon

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2676
  • Country: us
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2017, 06:29:27 pm »
:bullshit: WARNING! WARNING! BULLSHIT ALERT! :bullshit: For anything weight-loss to work it needs to be tailored to an individual's metabolism, so they are right about that part. HOWEVER, their claims to be able to control your entire metabolism with a little headset? NO, JUST NO... Plus, that would be extremely dangerous, even potentially LETHAL, if you wore a machine that forced your metabolism up for too long, say at night or something, then you body would literally consume itself, and you would basically get all the symptoms of over-exercise! So this would have a hard time passing regulations without extensive warning labels.
*BZZZZZZAAAAAP*
Voltamort strikes again!
Explodingus - someone who frequently causes accidental explosions
 

Offline m98

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 612
  • Country: de
Re: MODIUS: Groundbreaking Fat Reduction Technology
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2017, 10:32:45 pm »
So this is basically a class IIb medical device because of the systemic effects and the daily usage of 45 minutes for at least 12 weeks. There are also yet no clinical trials performed for devices on the market using a similar method.
Good luck getting THAT certified with such puny little funding. A reputable engineering consulting firm will take six figures just to create the appropriate paperwork, and this is assuming the device is perfectly compliant to norms even regulatory bodies might not have ever heard of and excludes all the costs for clinical trials (remember animal testing, ethics committees, double blind studies, all that jazz? About as expensive as it sounds.)
So while I do believe that they know exactly what they're doing and that they probably have some much less stylish prototype they might've tested on some "unexpecting victims" to write some papers, chances of actually taking this to the market are quite slim without either a big player or serious investor backing you up.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf