Obesity Care

Obesity care in Maple Ridge, BC

Obesity can be a tricky and stressful thing to handle. As your body transitions and metabolism slows, learning to alter your habits to fit your changing body can be challenging. If you notice a significant change in your weight and BMI, you may be in need of obesity care with a qualified nutritionist.

What is obesity?

When your BMI, body mass index, is higher than the average percentage, you may be overweight or obese. However, determining this using BMI can be tricky. Body mass index doesn’t take into account muscle mass. Thus, skewed results may occur. Being obese is the more severe version of being overweight. Typically, a person is obese if their body mass index is 30% or higher. If you find yourself in this situation, it would be wise to seek treatment and counseling from a nutritionist.

What is a nutritionist?

A nutritionist is a professional who specializes in building healthy diet plans for the patients, promoting disease prevention, and facilitating healthy lifestyle plans through education. Nutritionists are experts in the relationship between food and health. Working one-on-one with their patients, a nutritionist develops a customized diet plan based on their medical concerns and allergies. At Fraser Medical Clinic, we have an expert nutritionist in our office helping patients every Tuesday.

What health concerns are associated with obesity?

If obesity is not regularly monitored by a health professional and a treatment plan created, it may worsen. Obesity causes several complications, moderate to severe, and leads to other, more serious diseases. Some of these include:

• diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• cancer
• stroke
• coronary artery disease

How can you treat obesity?

Depending upon the cause of your obesity, your doctor and/or nutritionist will customize a treatment plan just for you. Plans are rarely the same. Some include medication changes, diet plans, exercise, lifestyle and behavior changes, and, in more severe cases, surgery. We urge our patients to note that while quick fixes like “yo-yo dieting” and “fad diets” may seem like a great idea, in the long run, they can be hazardous to your health. Additionally, these short-term fixes ultimately can cause a patient to gain back all of or more weight than before. Identifying a healthy, personalized treatment plan that you are comfortable with is key to long-lasting success.

Schedule a consultation at Fraser Medical Clinic

To learn more about counseling with our expert nutritionist, please call our Maple Ridge office at (604) 463-1300 for a consultation.