A computer chip implanted in an obese patient's arm to help weight-loss is being developed by scientists, The Daily Mail reports.
 

The chip would constantly check for fat in the blood and, when someone has eaten too much, release a hormone that makes them feel full and stop eating. In tests on mice, an early version of the device led them to eat less fatty food and shed weight. It also stopped releasing the diet drug when the animals reached a normal weight.
 

The Swiss researchers hope that within five to 10 years they will have a coin-sized version of the device that can be slipped under the skin.
 

The journal Nature Communications reports that the chip contains two sensors that work together to keep appetite in check — one that monitors fat levels in blood and the second to release the appetite suppressant.
 

"Humankind has a weight problem. According to the World Health Organization, over half the population in many industrialized countries is overweight, one in three people extremely so," said a spokesman for the researchers. "Not only is high-calorie and fatty food a lifetime on the hips, backside and stomach; it also leaves traces in the  blood, where various fats ingested via food circulate.
 

"Increased blood fat values are considered a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes."