Obesity is a growing problem in the U.S. as well as in some other countries of the world. A major chunk of the U.S. population is obese and it can lead to other medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and more. The U.S. government spends billions of dollars each year to battle obesity and its related diseases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that more than a third of the U.S. population, or over 78 million people are obese and more than 29 million Americans suffer from diabetes. The situation is estimated to worsen in the near term.

However, researchers have now developed a pill called fexaramine which behaves like an imaginary meal that confuses the human body as if it has consumed calories and gives the feeling of being full. 

Fexaramine may come to the rescue of many people who really want to lose weight and become normal-weight people. Ronald Evans, who is the director of Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory, created the imaginary meal pill.

Evans suggests that his laboratory has studied farensoid X receptor (FXR), which is a protein that plays a key role in how the body discharges bile acids from the liver, stores sugar and fats, and digests food for about two decades. The FXR also burns some fats in anticipation of eating a meal.

The study involved giving a fexaramine pill to obese lab mice for about five weeks. The researchers found that the mice refrained from gaining weight and also lost fat in the body. The mice also had lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels in comparison to untreated mice. The researchers also found that the body temperature of mice increased, reflecting at increased metabolism.

Evans explains that the intestines are the first to respond to when a person is preparing to eat a meal. The imaginary meal pill first triggers the intestine to activate FXR. Other FXR simulating drugs can trigger other body organs at the same time to activate FXR that can cause various side effects.

"The body's response to a meal is like a relay race, and if you tell all the runners to go at the same time, you'll never pass the baton," says Evans. "We've learned how to trigger the first runner so that the rest of the events happen in a natural order."

The study is important as it can help the government to reduce obesity as well as other obesity related medical conditions.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Check out a short video on the imaginary meal pill.