According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, more than 2 out of 5 American adults are obese. And that number is only expected to rise.

Because obesity is a major contributing factor to chronic and life-threatening conditions like cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, finding ways to help people reduce body weight is critical—not only for improving quality of life, but also for reducing health care risks.

Dieting, counting calories, and exercising are some of the classic methods many turn to when they want to lose weight. But the realities of bariatric medicine show that it’s often not nearly as simple as calories in and calories out.

“We used to think of weight as the accumulation of calories,” said Mert Erogul, MD, medical bariatrician at Maimonides Medical Center. “If you eat more calories than you expend through exercise, you gain weight. But if you expend more calories than you eat, you lose weight. So according to this way of thinking, people just don’t have the willpower to decrease their intake or exercise more. The modern understanding of obesity is very different. Now, we see it as a chronic disease of weight dysregulation where the physiologic set point has been changed.”

For those who are looking for a change, medical therapies, surgical solutions, and professional guidance from doctors, nutritionists, therapists, and other care professionals can be extremely effective in overcoming obesity. Maimonides Health’s new Bariatric Center offers patients a multidisciplinary, comprehensive program designed to help patients lose weight and maintain weight loss in a healthy way, incorporating both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options on an individualized basis. The Center emphasizes medical excellence and comprehensive patient support, using the latest operative and postoperative equipment to make procedures and care as safe and comfortable as possible.

Medical Weight Management Can Provide Effective Solutions Without Surgery

 Maimonides Bariatric Center’s medical weight management program offers a personalized approach to weight loss without surgery. The Center’s team – including Elana Gluzman, PA-C, bariatric physician assistant and coordinator, and Nina Dahan, registered dietician – work one on one with each person to identify health needs and goals and develop an individualized weight loss plan. The team combines nutrition education, psychological assessment and support, lifestyle changes, and, in some cases, medications to reach these patient weight loss outcomes.

“Diet, sleep and exercise are obviously the pillars, the three most important things,” Dr. Erogul said. “But once you take into account the metabolic set point, you have to use either medications or surgery. That’s sort of the common wisdom now that we’ve arrived at in obesity medicine.”

As soon as patients call the office or are referred, they are given an appointment for an individualized consultation along with a link to a monthly new patient education seminar that takes place on the second Monday of each month. These initial services allow patients to learn more about medically supervised weight loss, along with the benefits, risks, and efficacy of the options available to them.

Safe, Effective Surgical Weight Management From Highly Experienced Surgeons

The Bariatric Center’s surgical weight management program offers safe and effective bariatric treatments for obesity. This part of the Bariatric Center is a long-standing program at Maimonides. In fact, it has been accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) for 10 years in a row.

“The most long-lasting treatment is bariatric surgery. It is a safe procedure and most insurance will pay for it,” said Dr. Erogul. “Depending on how much you weigh, there are medical and weight criteria. And let’s say you do a gastric sleeve, which is the most popular procedure currently. You’ll often achieve about 30% body weight loss. And it’s a life-changing procedure for people.”

Bariatric Center surgeons Sergey Terushkin, MD, FACS, and Alexander Abdurakhmanov, MD, are experts in surgical treatments including:

• Gastric bypass
• Intragastric weight loss balloon
• Laparoscopic gastric banding
• Revision bariatric surgery
• Single-anastomosis duodenal switch (SIPS)
• Sleeve gastrectomy

“There is no singular approach to weight loss,” said Dr. Erogul. “People need access to a full spectrum of options to find what works for them. At Maimonides, we’ve developed a comprehensive program to meet each person’s needs so they can achieve success and improve their health.”

For more information or to refer a patient to Maimonides Bariatric Center, call (718) 283-7403 or visit https://maimo.org/treatments-care/general-surgery/bariatric-surgery/.