Those special mechanical devices to reduce fat people are contrived for the benefit of men and lazy women who are too slothful to take exercise or else too besotted in the matter of food indulgence to face the alternative of dieting.

They may not do any harm--properly operated, they probably do not--but, at best, I would regard them as being merely temporary expedients specially devised as first aid to the incurably lazy.
"And as for pills and boluses and bottled goods guaranteed to reduce your weight, and as for all these patented treatments and proprietary preparations which you see boosted in the papers--bah! Either they are harmless mixtures, in which event they'll probably do you no serious injury, but will certainly do you no real good; or else they contain drugs which, taken to excess, may cut you down in size, but have the added drawback of very probably cutting short your life.
"No, sir-ree! For you it's dieting, now and from now on.

You may be able to relax your diet in time, but you can never altogether forego it.

Give us this day our daily diet--that's your proper prayer.

And you'd better start praying pretty soon, too!" "All right, doc," I said resignedly.