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UAMS
Medical Center Feature
Why Wait to Lose Weight?
UAMS Medical Center Program Helps Patients Take off Pounds
by Carolyn M. Riggan
| "It’s
the easiest and most successful weight loss plan I’ve ever
tried!" That’s what the patients of Philip
Kern, M.D., are saying about the UAMS
Medical Center Weight Control Program – a comprehensive,
medically supervised, outpatient service that helps each
patient reach and then maintain his or her ideal body weight.
"Obesity is the No. 1
nutrition problem in the United States," said Kern, a
UAMS Medical Center endocrinologist and the director of the
Weight Control Program. "Over one-third of our population
is obese, which is medically defined as 20 percent above an
individual’s ideal weight. Obesity is a problem that was
almost nonexistent before the turn of the century, but can now
be attributed to our country’s much more sedentary lifestyle
and high-fat diet."
To address these and other
problems associated with obesity, the physicians, dietitians
and other health-care professionals of the Weight Control
Program work closely with their patients – tailoring the
program to fit the medical needs and lifestyle of each
individual. The heart of the program is a one-hour, weekly
class during which the staff members and patients discuss
nutrition, exercise and behavior modification techniques. Sydney
Rephan leads the classes, while Carolyn Kennedy is the
coordinator of the program. Both are registered and licensed
dietitians.
The program begins with a
nutritionally balanced, low-fat diet. One way patients can adhere to
this type of diet is by increasing the amount of fruits and
vegetables they consume. "Rather than always emphasizing the
negative – ‘Don’t eat this, and don’t eat that’ – we
emphasize the positive by telling patients to eat all the vegetables
and fruits they want," Kern said. "There are very few
calories, yet very high nutritional values, in vegetables. These
foods are also very filling and help patients lose fat." |
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Philip Kern, M.D.,
the director of the Weight Control Program at UAMS Medical
Center, displays a packet of the dietary supplement that is
used in the early stages of the program.
"Decreasing
Your Weight, Increasing Your Net Worth": UAMS and
Arvest Bank Present New Seminar for Women
Calorie Counting / Diet Diary Interactive Form (requires
IE 4.01 or later and Office 2000 or later)
Printable
Calorie
Reporting Form / Diary of Daily Food Intake
|
For some patients, their food plans
may include a dietary supplement. A pleasant-tasting powder mixed
with water or a low-calorie beverage, the supplement provides
patients with the nutrients necessary to minimize hunger and
maintain health. Patients can initially substitute food with the
supplement to lose weight.
In addition, Kern stresses that
patients should record their daily caloric
intakes. "Most
people don’t know where all the calories are coming from, so they
often wind up eating more than they think they are," he
explained. "But, they can solve this problem by writing down
everything they eat and tabulating the calories. And, if they want
to eat chocolate cake every now and then, that’s fine as long as
they’re accountable for it when they record their calories."
Exercise
is also a vital part of the Weight
Control Program. "It’s nearly impossible for people to
shed pounds and sustain that weight loss without increasing their
levels of activity," Kern said. "Exercise is a natural
Prozac that makes people feel good. And, it doesn’t have to be
backbreaking, body-aching work. For many patients, a brisk,
30-minute walk three times each week is sufficient."
The program highlights behavior
modification, as well. While altering diet and exercise regimens to
lose weight are forms of behavior modification, there are other
actions that patients can take. For example, many people reach for
food when they are under stress. With the help of the program’s
health-care professionals, these patients can pinpoint the
situations that cause them tension and can learn to deal with them
through relaxation
and other techniques, rather than through eating.
For more information about the UAMS
Medical Center Weight Control Program, call (501) 603-1497.
Links on this page:
Weight Control Program at UAMS Medical
Center: http://weight.uams.edu/default.htm
"Decreasing Your Weight, Increasing Your Net Worth":
UAMS and Arvest Bank Present New Seminar for
Women: http://www.uams.edu/today/121301/seminar.htm
Bio of Philip Kern,
M.D.: Bio
of Philip Kern, M.D.
Weight Control Program Staff Page - Bio of Sydney Rephan: http://weight.uams.edu/staff.htm
Calorie Counting / Diet Diary Interactive Form (requires
IE 4.01 or later and Office 2000 or later): http://www.uams.edu/medcenter/news/calorie_counter_uams.htm
Calorie Recording Form to Print Out: Calorie
Reporting Form / Diary of Daily Food Intake
LivLite Weight Management Program: http://www.liv-lite.com/
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