Being trim is more than fashionable. It's life insurance. Although maintaining an appropriate weight can't guarantee you perfect health, it is good protection against heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, gall bladder disease and vascular disease. Such disorders are aggravated by obesity and can be minimized or even reversed with proper diet and weight control.

If you are obese, your ideal weight should be reached by means of a documented, medically proven program. You can endanger your health with fad diets and drugs that are sometimes more dangerous than the problem they seek to correct. In addition, part of any rational diet should encompass behavior modification. Otherwise, you are likely to regain the lost weight as soon as you resume your previous eating habits.

The UAMS Weight Control Program is a comprehensive, medically supervised, out-patient program, which is helping many Arkansans lose weight. The goal of this program is to help you lose weight, improve your health, maintain your weight loss, and enhance your chances for longevity.

Before starting in the weight control program, an orientation session is mandatory.  You must have an appointment scheduled to attend the orientation.  Call 603-1497 to make an appointment.

These orientation sessions are every other Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the Arkansas Cancer Research Building in room 1017 on the tenth floor.  Interested parties can park in the outpatient parking deck located on Capitol Avenue (intersects with Elm).  The orientation will last about an hour.

The orientation consists of a 20 minute presentation and then a brief description of the program and an outline of the costs by one of our staff members.  Interested parties can sign up for an appointment that night.

Costs and Frequently Asked Questions

The cost of the program is $649. 

This includes the initial medical visit ($150), initial lab ($100), a program fee for the first 24 weeks $300 and for the first week of meal replacements ($99). The supplement is the patient's "food" and the cost for that breaks down to about $10 per day.

The classes that are offered are twenty four weeks of behavior modification classes and nutrition classes.  They are taught both by registered dieticians and trained nutritional professionals.

The medical costs for the program are dependant on the risk level of the patient. This risk level is determined by the doctor at the initial visit. The risk factor takes into account the patient's BMI (body mass index), any medications that the patient is taking and any present disease factors as well as medical history.  

Insurance does not pay for the program at this time.

A patient does not need a doctor’s referral to begin the program.  Doctor's referrals are always considered, but unfortunately, it does not expedite a patient on the waiting list if they do have a doctor’s referral.

Learn more about UAMS' Weight Control Program.

Calculate your body mass index / assess your health risk

Plan your menu online with an interactive menu planner and calorie counter (NIH) 

Download a free BMI calculator for use on Palm OS handheld devices (NIH)

For more information call (501) 603-1497.
Or Contact us at weight@uams.edu