He studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen, and in the early 1970s began to collect research data on public health and nutrition for the Danish government.
He also produced a government-sponsored, educational TV series, Sund og slank (healthy and slim) in 1974, accompanied by a book of the same name, which sold 750.000 copies, his first huge publishing success.
In 1976, Hessel developed a trimness-pill called Fiber Trim, followed ten years later by his diet-pill Gastrolette, later marketed as Minus Calories and Zotrim.
[1] In 1991, Hessel published a bestselling book and videotape called Window on Love, based on his research with ultrasound scans, which he used to study how the penis moves inside the woman's pelvis during sexual intercourse.
Based on a mixture of herbal ingredients, the Femi-X pill allegedly enhances the female libido by stimulating blood flow and natural brain activity.