A hi-tech balloon that fills up the stomach and then pops itself after four months could help to counter the obesity epidemic.

The new type of gastric balloon, which has just been approved for use in the UK, is designed to help those who find it impossible to lose weight through normal diets.

But unlike existing products, no surgery is required to insert or remove it.

Instead, the patient swallows a tiny capsule containing the deflated Elipse balloon, which is made from a delicate polymer film.

The new type of gastric balloon, which has just been approved for use in the UK, is designed to help those who find it impossible to lose weight through normal diets

Attached to the capsule is a catheter – a thin tube. Once the capsule has reached the stomach, a doctor fills the balloon with water through the catheter and then tugs on the tube to detach it.

The filled Elipse occupies a large part of the stomach, reducing appetite and improving the patient’s chances of shedding weight. After roughly four months, a valve in the polymer film opens and the balloon collapses, passing out through the digestive system and allowing the patient to return to a normal calorie intake.

The remains of the balloon pass out through the digestive system.

Most existing gastric balloons rely on a surgeon placing the device in the stomach using an internal probe while the patient is sedated or under anaesthetic.

At the end of its life, it has to be removed the same way. Last year a balloon that can be swallowed, called Obalon, became available privately in the UK. But it too requires surgical removal.

The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has warned that obesity is as big a threat to Britain’s future as terrorism.

The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies (pictured), has warned that obesity is as big a threat to Britain’s future as terrorism and it is thought that the new balloon could be a weapon against it

According to the World Obesity Forum, the number of overweight and obese Britons is set to rise from the current 32million to 36million by 2025, with four million classed a severely obese. Gastric bypass surgery is seen as an effective, if drastic, solution but can be too high a risk for extremely large patients.

Once they are removed, or passed out as waste, they have no further effect, so weight goes back on unless the patient has a long-term weight maintenance strategy Professor Mike Lean

The Elipse balloon, developed by US firm Allurion Technologies, recently received marketing approval for the UK and Europe.

It is unlikely to be used on the NHS but could be available through private weight loss clinics. In a study involving 34 obese men and women, it led to average weight loss of 10kg – 22lb – over the four months it was in the body. Volunteers lost an average of 8cm – just over 3in – from their waistlines. In every case, the collapsed balloon passed safely out of the body.

Professor Mike Lean, an expert in human nutrition at Glasgow University, said the method could help some people with initial weight loss. But he warned it was not a permanent solution to obesity.

‘Balloons definitely help some people to lose weight over a short period. But they cannot have any long-term effect,’ he said.