“I need to lose some weight” vs. obesity

There is a difference between losing weight to look good in a new swim suit or taking off 20 pounds to get your blood pressure under control and being obese.

The majority of the population is overweight.

Being overweight is different from being obese.

“An adult male is considered obese when his weight is 20 percent or more over the maximum healthy weight for his height; a woman is considered obese at 25 percent or more over her maximum healthy weight,“ says Joe Dillon, director of the UI Weight Management Program.

Anyone more than 100 pounds overweight is considered morbidly obese.

Today, approximately 65 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Sixty-one million adult

Americans are considered obese and about 16 percent of American children are overweight.

Excess weight and obesity are linked to increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and other chronic conditions.

Weight-loss options  

• Diets
• Surgery

How do you get fat?

• Consumption of more food than your body uses
• Excess alcohol intake
• Sedentary lifestyle

Your Options

If you fall into the obese category, UI Hospitals and Clinics offers two weight management options:

The UI Weight Management Clinic brings together medical specialists with extensive, comprehensive experience in the field of weight loss to help you build a lifestyle that helps you achieve permanent weight loss.

The multidisciplinary, physician-directed weight reduction program is rooted in lifestyle modification using diet, exercise, educational therapy, and behavioral therapy.

For information, call 384-6581.

The UI Obesity Surgery Program has been identified by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a Bariatric (weight-loss) Surgery Center of Excellence for having an integrated program that promotes patient safety and provides team support to patients.

Not everyone who is obese qualifies for gastric bypass surgery. Patients must have severe obesity and/or have associated medical problems and meet specific qualifications.

For information, call 319-356-1887 or 319-356-7694, or e-mail obesitysurgery@ uiowa.edu.