Weight: A Top Issue for Mid-life Women
"Weight is one of the biggest issues raised
by our women patients," said Michelle Battistini,
MD, director of Penn Health for Women. Despite
all we know about weight loss and exercise, women
are heavier than ever. According to the National
Institutes of Health, over half of women in the
U.S. are overweight and one-fourth are obese.
"For most people, it's very easy to lose
weight. The challenge is keeping it off," explained
Valerie Weil, MD, internist with Penn Health
for Women. That's why the weight-loss industry,
which includes medications, books and exercise
equipment, continues to thrive. Consumers will
try anything to win the "battle" of
the bulge, especially when it appears to be the
easier, softer way.
Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. Losing
weight and keeping it off takes a consistent
effort that often involves big lifestyle changes.
Although this can be a difficult undertaking
for many women, it is possible and many have
happily succeeded. Several new weight loss medications
and weight loss programs deserve investigation.
Since consumers are sometimes bombarded with
information on these latest "weight loss
miracles", we've put together several articles
in this issue to help you sort it all out and
give you direction.
Recently, two new drugs to assist with weight
loss, Meridia and Xenical, have been released
and are being marketed directly to the public
on TV and radio. There are also several popular
diets, namely high protein and low carbohydrate,
making the rounds of infomercials and talks shows.
While the medications can help and the diets
have some valuable information to offer, it's
still true that to lose weight you need to eat
less
and move more. Still, we can incorporate these new tools and this new information
to help in the process.
"We're very good at getting people to lose
weight, but we haven't been as successful in
getting them to keep the weight off," said
Valerie Weil, MD, internal medicine specialist
with Penn Health for Women. Permanent weight
loss is a matter of balance that requires long-term
lifestyle changes, no matter what weight loss
pill you're taking or plan you're following.
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