Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration approved “a surgically implanted device to treat obesity in some adults.”

The implant, developed by EnteroMedics, seeks to devour America’s growing obesity situation from the inside. As reported by the FDA, the implant may only be used on patients with a body mass index of 35 to 45, and who exhibit at least one additional obesity-related condition, such as Type 2 diabetes.

Here’s how it works: The device is surgically implanted into the patient’s body, and from there blocks the vagus nerve from transmitting signals from the stomach to the brain (think of it as a pace maker for the stomach.) Essentially, the device prevents the body from feeling the hunger pains that would otherwise develop.

One last detail about this new, FDA-approved, cutting-edge technology: It’s estimated to cost between $10,000 and $30,000 — around the range of other bariatric surgeries, such as gastric bypass procedures.

Due to the environmental factors that can contribute to obesity — such as our ready and steady access to food, our tendency to eat excessive amounts of that easily accessible food and our waning enthusiasm for physical activity — I don’t think we should need to rely upon an implanted device to monitor weight gain.

I guess to state things bluntly, my thought is that if you have a spare $10,000 to $30,000 lying around, you should instead hire a personal trainer.

It’s fairly common knowledge that genetics frequently play a role in how we gain and can’t seem to rid ourselves of excess weight. In 2007, researchers discovered that individuals who carry the FTO gene — or “the poster child for the genetics of obesity” — are often heavier than those who do not carry the gene.

But this has not always been the case.

Scientists have tracked individuals carrying the FTO gene for years, and, according to The New York Times, their studies reveal that FTO gene carriers born prior to World War II “were not at additional risk of putting on weight.”

Researchers attribute this difference in weight gain trends to environmental factors, namely a decrease in physical activity and modern dietary practices.

Due to the aforementioned environmental factors that contribute to excessive weight gain, however, I think the implant device is unnecessary.

The notion that in the present day, obesity is deemed a $20,000 problem, is alarming. The fact that this device was first invented and then approved by the FDA illustrates just how prevalent and problematic obesity has become in our contemporary world.

But it doesn’t necessarily justify its use.

In my eyes, the FDA’s approval of this device should serve primarily as a reminder of obesity’s prevalence today. We should be alarmed at the fact that things have, somehow, managed to get this bad. Consider the irony behind the implant: We’ve over-consumed to such an extent that it’s become necessary to monetarily consume even more in effort to rid ourselves of the negative, deadly and costly side effects of over-consumption.

Furthermore, the risk factors associated with this technology — described by National Public Radio as “serious adverse events” — include “surgical complications, pain at the electrode sites, heartburn, and abdominal pain.”

To me, such drastic side effects simply aren’t worth the trouble. Given the evidence we possess of the environmental contributions to obesity, I feel it is in our better interest to target and attack the external, controllable factors that cause obesity.

As I’ve stated before, although the FTO gene presents positive correlation with excessive weight gain, this correlation has not always existed. Evidence of the role controllable environmental factors play in overconsumption and weight gain is overwhelming, and it is my thought that we ought to work harder to target the dietary and physical causes of this positive correlation before making use of possibly harmful, costly new technology.

Rather than view obesity as a permanent condition that necessitates costly procedures and treatments, we should refocus our attention on the ways our lifestyles can feed the impact obesity has on humans.

Carly is a junior in FAA. She can be reached at [email protected].