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The obesity epidemic: Why you should care

The obesity epidemic: Why you should care.

By CHER JACOBSEN, MD

Medical Director of the Optifit Program

You have probably already heard about the obesity epidemic that is sweeping our nation.  The fact that the topic is now frequently in the news serves to underscore the importance this issue. The burden of the disease of obesity is staggering.  Nearly 70 percent of adults in our country are overweight or obese. Yes, you read that right—nearly 70 percent!  Sadly, even 30 percent of our children suffer from the disorder of obesity. Part of the danger of obesity is that the condition is directly linked to the most common causes of death in this country. Heart disease, stroke, Type II diabetes, and the most common cancers (breast, colon, and prostate) are all intimately linked to overweight and obesity. In fact, a person who is obese has a 50-100 percent greater risk of premature death from all causes than a person of normal weight. The full scope of medical conditions related to obesity are unfortunately much  too numerous to list in this article.

A short list of additional obesity related conditions would include incontinence, gallbladder disease, depression, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and sleep apnea. It is even true that children born to overweight or obese mothers have a much higher risk of serious birth defects. Suffice it to say that the majority of the conditions I treat most commonly in my private practice would go away if we could eliminate overweight and obesity. 

Obesity rates are skyrocketing in this country and it is the fastest growing cause of death and disease in this nation. The combination of those two facts leads many experts to the sobering realization that the children of this generation will not live as long as their parents. Already, conditions such as the previously termed “Adult Onset  Diabetes,” are showing up in pre-teens! Diabetic complications (heart attack, stroke, amputation,  kidney disease, etc) that used to appear later in life now affect people in their twenties and thirties!  It may come as a shock to hear that young people now take multiple medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Imagine having to take multiple life-saving medications before you are even old enough to be married  or start a family. Tragically, the terms “young and healthy” are no longer always synonymous.  Such a situation was unheard  of just a couple of decades ago, but is becoming more commonplace now. The tragedy of this crisis is that it is completely preventable. But, that is also a source of the greatest hope. The conditions of overweight and obesity are preventable and treatable! Sadly, the cure is not as simple as prescribing a pill.

Currently there are no weight loss medications or supplements that have been shown to be safe and effective in the long term, and none are on the horizon. Weight reduction surgeries are valuable and effective, but are suitable only for a small proportion of our nation’s overweight and obesity sufferers. The only tried and true method for lasting individual weight loss is a comprehensive plan that incorporates a permanent lifestyle change.  To change the waistlines of an entire nation will require a complete societal overhaul— decreasing our emphasis on oversized portions of unhealthy foods and increasing our physical activity.  If you are an individual who suffers from overweight or obesity, there is help.  

Optifit is a local, comprehensive, medically managed weight loss program that encompasses the lifestyle changes noted above. This physician directed program utilizes a customized meal replacement program designed to help you lose a maximum amount of weight quickly and safely. The Optifit Program also includes twice weekly personal training exercise sessions, weekly group support meetings, and meetings with a registered dietitian. With the use of the technologically advanced BOD POD body composition unit and a calorimeter to determine metabolism, Optifit can create your personalized path to health and fitness.  Our patients experience significant weight loss that enables them to reduce or discontinue medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Many of our patients lose in excess of 50 pounds in the first 12-18 weeks of this intensive weight loss program. With this amount of weight reduction, sleep apnea CPAP machines are usually able to be discarded, much to the delight of our patients and their physicians. After weight loss is achieved, our patients also participate in a valuable monthly weight maintenance sessions. In this way we can ensure that program participants maintain the healthy weight they have worked so hard to achieve. 

We are all familiar with the weight loss advertisements in the back pages of popular magazines. There is usually an impressive “before and after” photo of a woman in a bikini.  Inevitably, next to the photo is a small print disclaimer that reads “Results NOT typical.”  I am proud, as the medical director of the comprehensive Optifit Program to say without reservation that our results ARE typical!  If you are interested in investing in a lifetime of health and fitness achieved through safe, significant lifelong weight loss  please call 1-877-OPTIFIT for more information.

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