Overweight and obesity represent serious health problems in the United States, affecting about 69% of the adult population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Having a healthier lifestyle and lower body weight can increase energy and overall welfare, as well as reduce the risk of developing a series of diseases related to obesity, such as metabolic disease, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. However, in a high-paced and high-stress society, losing weight is not always easy.
Many patients attempt and fail to lose weight on their own. In order to improve health and help patients address overweight or obesity issues, medically supervised weight loss programs are now giving patients the tools they need to lose weight and keep it off. The main purpose is not only to help patients lose and manage their body weight, but also to maintain a healthier lifestyle, improve quality of life and decrease the risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, abnormal blood fats, metabolic syndrome, cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, reproductive problems or gallstones.
What Kind of Providers Oversee Medically Supervised Weight Loss?
When a patient acknowledges difficulty in losing weight, the first step is to search for a specialized weight loss program. For the Cape Girardeau and Perryville areas, Your Family Medical Clinic specializes in medically supervised weight loss as well as primary care.
Medically supervised weight loss programs are designed to offer treatment to overweight or obese patients who are closely followed by our licensed healthcare professionals. Most patients only need to consult with our provider for their care and the programs tend to yield exceptional results while responding to each patient’s individual needs.
During the initial consultation, our provider will evaluate the patient to understand the underlying causes for obesity or weight gain and whether the patient suffers from other diseases related to obesity (often referred to as “comorbidities”). The provider will also request a weight history, including past diet attempts, and a psychological history (in certain situations). Since there are different techniques for losing weight, the initial examination will help determine the most appropriate method.
The cost associated with a medically supervised weight loss program depends on whether the patient will be a cash pay patient or some health insurance companies will actually cover either part or the total costs of the treatment. Getting health insurance coverage is usually easier in cases when in addition to weight problems, the patient also suffers from weight-related health conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
