Mary Bowerman

USA TODAY Network

The Food and Drug Administration approved a weight loss device on Tuesday that pumps food out of a person’s stomach after they eat a meal.

While some have criticized the device as “assisted bulimia,” the FDA stressed in a statement, that the AspireAssist device is not meant for anyone with an eating disorder, and should only be used by adults 22-and-older who are obese and have failed to lose weight through non-surgical methods.

To place the device, a surgeon makes a tiny incision and endoscopically puts a tube in the patient’s stomach, which is attached to a “disk-shaped port that lies outside the body,” according to the statement. To drain the contents of the stomach, a person should wait twenty or thirty minutes after they eat, and then attach an external connector to the port and open the valve.

According to the statement, 30 percent of the calories consumed during a meal can be removed by the device, which takes five-to-ten minutes to drain the food from the stomach into the toilet.

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While the device can “provide effective control of calorie absorption,” patients have to be carefully monitored, William Maisel, deputy director for science and chief scientist in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.

“Patients need to be regularly monitored by their health care provider and should follow a lifestyle program to help them develop healthier eating habits and reduce their calorie intake,” Maisel said.

The device requires frequent trips to the doctor to shorten the tube as the patient loses weight, and has a safety feature that automatically stops working after 115 cycles, to ensure patients actually do make it to their healthcare professional.

Clinical trials show that after one year, patients who used AspireAssist lost 12.1% of their total body weight, compared to 3.6% of patients in the control group.

The product was developed by Aspire Bariatrics of King of Prussia, Pa., and is currently available in Europe, according to the company.

As with all medical devices and procedures, the list of potential side effects is long.

According to the FDA, patients may experience stomach pain, irritation, potential leakage, bleeding, and infection to name a few.

Here's a look at how the device works:

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