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UK's NHS to test "talking plate" to fight obesity

Announced Monday, Britain's National Health Service will begin testing a device that politely tells you to stop gorging on your food in an effort to trim back obesity rates.

Created by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, the Mandometer has so far been tested as an effective treatment for eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia, and now the UK is aiming to test its effectiveness against obesity by launching its own trials.

When you gobble your food, the Mandometer tells you to "please eat slowly," according to the UK's Daily Mail, which dubbed the £1,500 device the "talking plate."

At the start of your meal, the Mandometer weighs a plate of food, then tracks the rate at which food leaves the plate -- while offering audible warnings if you're eating too quickly. According to the website, the idea is to slow down the act of eating, giving your body a chance to perceive the sensation of satiety.

The device also encourages you to consider whether or not you've had enough by flashing messages on its screen such as, "Are you feeling full yet?"

In the US, researchers from Clemson University in South Carolina have also recently created a wearable device that calculates every bite you take while tallying up the calories. Worn like a watch, the $799 Bite Counter tracks a pattern of wrist-roll motions to identify when the wearer has taken a bite of food.