OUR APPROACH TO WEIGHT LOSS & BARIATRIC SURGERY:
Our approach to the management of obesity and its related diseases is comprehensive by its very nature. Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease and, therefore, is not generally “cured” by a single medical or surgical intervention alone. Similar to the approach to any other chronic disease, a multidisciplinary team with a coordinated treatment program is necessary. metabolicHEALTH, our comprehensive weight loss program, extends beyond the surgical procedure to provide all the tools and support available and necessary for you to reach your weight loss goals.
When the energy expended during routine activities and exercise is greater than the energy in the food you eat, your fat reserves are burned to meet your body’s energy needs. A reduction in caloric intake and/or increase in physical activity will result in weight loss. The major components of a comprehensive and healthy weight loss program are illustrated in the accompanying diagram.
We have assembled a comprehensive team to provide you with the support and tools you will need to be successful, not only in weight loss, but in changing your life. We believe there are many tools and approaches to weight management and are prepared to help all patients with health issues related to obesity.
Obesity is not a new phenomenon in the U.S., though now it is receiving the attention it deserves due to the epidemic increase in both childhood and adult obesity rates. John F. Kennedy appreciated the problem during his short presidential tenure in the 1960’s and emphasized fitness tests and programs in American schools. History repeats itself, and we are again trying to change school programs and attitudes towards obesity. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of 20 percent or more above your “ideal body weight” is the point at which excess weight becomes a health risk. Today, approximately two-thirds of the adult population suffers from weight-related health conditions, and an estimated 13 million of those are suffering from morbid obesity. Obesity becomes “morbid” when it reaches the point of increasing the risk of developing serious health conditions, physical disability, poor quality of life, and even early death.
For many years the predominant belief was that being overweight was generally a failure of willpower – simply not having the discipline to exercise, keep from overeating, or both. While certain factors leading to obesity can be in one’s control, other factors may simply be attributed to nature. Researchers are just beginning to understand the genetic component of obesity and have now identified more than 200 genes and gene markers that contribute to human obesity. Genetics provides the body with very sophisticated built-in mechanisms to prevent significant loss of fat stores (the primary energy source for the body), in other words, weight loss. Our environment which provides abundant and relatively cheap, highly caloric food sources, as well as labor saving devices (allowing a sedentary lifestyle) combines with genetic predisposition to lead to weight gain and obesity. Morbid obesity is a true chronic disease, associated with numerous medical conditions or comorbidities, requiring long term treatment. The list of health conditions directly related to obesity is quite long and includes:
