About "Medically Supervised Weight Loss"

New “medically supervised weight loss clinics” capitalize on the Affordable Care Act’s requirements for medical insurance to cover obesity treatments, according to The New York Times.

Consumers who want to shed pounds should carefully consider a clinic’s practices before they commit to the program. Ask:

• What is the strategy? Quick fixes, often reliant on packaged products sold by the clinic, do not work in the long run. A program of lifestyle and behavioral modifications is much more likely to bring long-term weight lossresults.
• What is the clinical experience with obesity of the doctor and staff? Seek an interdisciplinary team with a physician specializing in obesity medicine, registered dietitian, health psychologist and exercise physiologist.
• Who plans the menus? The “nutritionist” designation is unregulated and denotes no formal education and training. Registered dietitians (RDs) have college degrees in nutritional science that require hands-on, clinical training.
• Are long-term follow up and support part of the program?
• Are there adverse side effects to medications prescribed to facilitate weight loss?

Many who want to lose weight give up on lifestyle modifications because they consider their progress too slow. Yet gradual weight loss via healthy eating and exercise regimens produces the best results.

For long-term weight loss success, consider the Center for Weight Management and the Katz Institute for Women’s Health’s Create Your Weight program.

This post was written by Sotiria Everett, RD, and Christine Santori, RD, of the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

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