Weight Management

Our understanding of obesity has advanced rapidly in recent years. We now recognize that obesity is not simply due to lack of willpower or poor food choices and lack of exercise. Obesity is a complex disease resulting from the interaction of genes, biology and behavior, and affected by social, economic and cultural factors. Research has advanced our knowledge of the many health benefits of weight loss, and of the strategies that work best to help people lose weight. We use our knowledge of these factors to provide state of the art weight management programs offering a variety of effective tools to treat the whole person.
Obesity is not simply a matter of being “out of shape” or a few pounds overweight. It is a serious, chronic health problem that can significantly increase your risk for hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and even cancer.
Obesity is treatable with medical supervision and lifestyle changes. At ChristianaCare’s Weight Management Center, we can help you achieve permanent weight loss and reduce your risk for obesity-related illnesses. View the video below for more information on how obesity occurs.

Weight Loss Program Recommendations Based on BMI

Health risks associated with obesity:

Bone and cartilage degeneration (Osteoarthritis)
Coronary heart disease
Gallbladder disease
High blood pressure (Hypertension)
High total cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
Respiratory problems
Several cancers
Sleep apnea
Stroke
Type 2 diabetes

The term weight management generally encompasses the following goals:

Primary prevention of excess weight gain
Weight loss (usually completed within three to six months)
Prevention of weight regain (from three to six months onwards)
Optimising health and reducing risk of disease (whether or not weight loss is achieved).

Healthcare professionals should make patients aware of the following health benefits associated with sustained modest weight loss:

Improved lipid profiles
Reduced osteoarthritis-related disability
Lowered all-cause, cancer and diabetes mortality in some patient groups
Reduced blood pressure
Improved glycaemic control
Reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes
Potential for improved lung function in patients with asthma.

The aim of weight loss and weight maintenance interventions should be to:

Improve pre-existing obesity-related co-morbidities
Reduce the future risk of obesity-related co-morbidities
Improve physical, mental and social well-being.

Exercise Program

Warm up and stretching activities.
Endurance training.
Cool down and stretching exercises.
Flexibility training.
Resistance Training.
Recreational Activities.

Prescription of Exercise for Health and Fitness:

The four basic factors in an exercise program are exercise mode, frequency, duration and intensity.
The program should include one or more cardiovascular endurance activities. If the activity involves competition, preconditioning with a standard endurance activity is recommended before sports participation begins to bring you up to an appropriate level of fitness.
Optimal exercise frequency is 3 to 5 days of training each week, greater frequencies might provide additional benefits. Exercise should begin with three to four sessions per week and then progress to more if desired.
Exercise intensity can be monitored on the basis of training heart rate, metabolic equivalent or rating of perceived exertion.
Exercise duration of 20 to 40 minute working at the appropriate intensity is optimal, but the key is reaching the threshold for both duration and intensity.
Exercise intensity is the most important factor. For most individuals intensity should be 50% to 60% of VO2 max.