Easy way to prevent diabetes?

[mattbell]

There are already implantable glucose monitors.  Why not create one that causes harmless pain if blood glucose rises beyond a certain level, with the amount of pain increasing commensurate with the level?  People modify their behaviors quickly to avoid pain if there's a clear and rapid connection between the pain and a pain-causing stimulus.

Devices that intentionally cause pain might be difficult to get FDA-approved, but it seems like techniques like gastric bypass essentially accomplish the same thing, with far more side effects an irreversible changes. 

I feel like I have a natural version of this glucose-pain connection; when I eat many kinds of junk food, I start to feel sick within minutes.  It's trained me to not eat junk food, even if it once tasted good at the time of eating.

Comments

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

People modify their behaviors quickly to avoid pain if there's a clear and rapid connection between the pain and a pain-causing stimulus.

If only! I've been sitting in ways that cause me pain for YEARS. I know that is causes me pain, the pain develops within minutes but I KEEP DOING IT. Why? Because other than the part that hurts it's actually quite comfortable. So you really have to have not only pain but pain that is considered worse than the associated positive effect of the same behavior.

See also: masochists

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

So I'd need an adjustable pain multiplier dial... including one with negative settings for masochists. :-)