Personalized weight loss

Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. Traditionally, obesity has been defined by a BMI over 30 and overweight as BMI over 25. Because BMI does not take into account muscle mass or types of body fat, there are more accurate ways we use to assess body fat- like waist circumference, body composition analysis and DEXA scan.  

Based on ethnic background, a lower BMI can indicate overweight and obesity in certain people who are at higher risk. We us an individualized approach to evaluating BMI, body composition and labs to assess risk.

Muscle matters! People can have sarcopenic obesity if they have low muscle mass and relatively higher amounts of body fat. People with this type of obesity can appear relatively thin, have “normal” BMI but carry more weight in their mid-section area (more of a type of fat called visceral fat) and are at higher risk for metabolic disease. This is especially in higher risk groups like Asians, South Asians who have higher risk for diabetes, strokes and heart attacks at obesity levels when BMI is 25.

Weight gain, obesity and overweight occur from a complex combination of factors, including:

• Energy imbalance from disrupted appetite regulation from metabolic hormone dysfunction & increased food noise
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Environmental factors like pesticides, high calorie environment
• Genetics 
• Hormonal changes like in perimenopause & menopause weight gain
• Family history
• Disease conditions like hypothyroid, PCOS
• Medicines used to treat conditions like anxiety, depression, and autoimmune conditions 
• Emotional factors impacting health behaviors
• Age and loss of muscle