Medical Weight Loss

Medical weight loss is a term that implies a proactive approach to the management of a patient’s fitness, diet, and actions implemented to help a patient achieve healthy lifestyle by changing behaviors. Medical weight loss differs from traditional diet and exercise programs in that in addition to the conventional approach to weight loss (diet, exercise, and nutrition) other medical treatments can be employed. These can include supplements, CJC/Ipamorelin injections (peptides used for weight loss and decreasing fat) and lifestyle modification. Medical weight loss is a holistic approach to help a patient achieve weight loss and achieve results where other efforts may have failed.

Causes of Obesity:

Food and activity are interrelated. Unfortunately, our fast-paced society, increased hours at work, and the recent pandemic makes it difficult to achieve scheduled exercise. To establish portion control, maintain healthier food choices, and stay away from sugar are all part of lifestyle choices. Being overweight is not a character defect. There are many interrelated caused such as genetics, sex, age, and ethnicity play a role as well. Various medical conditions, such as under active thyroid, poor sleep, along with lack of knowledge of nutritional values of foods and lifestyle choices can increase risk of obesity.

Risk Factors:

There are several factors that are associated with obesity. Among these are Insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure, cancer, gallstones, gout, hip and joint pain, arthritis and sleep apnea. Insulin resistance is a condition where the effectiveness of the body’s insulin is reduced by an abundance of fat cells. Heart disease is increased for women who have a BMI that is greater than 29. Patients who have already suffered a heart attack, have an increased risk of having a second attack if they are obese. Patients with a BMI of over 40 have a reduced life expectancy.

Diagnosis:

For most patients, the Body Mass Index (BMI ) defines an overweight condition. Some heavily muscled athletes may not fall into this category, but the BMI is generally accepted as the prime indicator for an overweight condition. Typically, cardiovascular health or the lack of may be diagnosed with blood tests (Cardio IQ lipid panel), EKG (electrocardiogram), stress test, and Cardiac calcium score. Blood test can determine levels of dangerous cholesterol in the blood, from lipid components such as LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides (from sugary foods). The EKG shows the rhythm of the heart and can detect injury or blockages in cardiac vessels causing chest pain from lack of blood flow. The stress test can indicate if the heart is experiencing narrowing of the arteries by subjecting it work or stress, and or determine if a patient is deconditioned.

Treatment:

The overweight or obese condition should be treated like any other chronic disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Evaluation by a doctor is essential when simple diet and exercise fail to produce the desired results. There are additional tools available to safely and effectively treat this condition. These not only include carefully guided lifestyle changes but the utilization of supplements and medications. Managing a person’s weight is life-long commitment, therefore a long lasting, sustainable treatment must be found.

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