Prickly pear may help fight obesity

London, June 10 (ANI): Prickly pear may be the key to people losing weight, says a new study.

The exotic "fruit", which was loved by Baloo the bear in the classic Disney film The Jungle Book, has been found to have fat-binding properties.

Now, going by the fruit's extraordinary properties, scientists have developed a new organic product derived from it named Proactol which has been clinically proven in trials to bind with fat, reports The Daily Express.

After a meal when the easy-to- swallow tablet is taken it allows the body to expel around 30 per cent more fat - meaning the body absorbs almost a third less fat from food.

Proactol product manager Katie Downing-Howitt said: "We aren't claiming Proactol is a miracle cure for obesity but it is clinically proven to bind with fat and, as part of a balanced healthy lifestyle, does assist weight loss.

"It's ironic that Disney's animators gave prickly pear-munching Baloo a rather cuddly figure." (ANI)