Diet Programs

I title this blog post that because even on the journey to balance, occasionally a topic comes to my attention again and again that I feel I just have to speak to. Disclaimer: obviously, not all health care providers treat their patients with disrespect or disregard. There are many caring practitioners who do take a more compassionate and holistic approach to health care.

Having said that, I am wondering… why much of the health care community approaches “health” from such a degrading, dissecting, and disrespectful place? Especially when it comes to something Drs. believe that individuals are “choosing” to do to themselves.

Examples? *Being a smoker. *Being a drinker. *Being a (illicit or prescription) drug abuser. *Being obese.

Now, in all of those listed “self-inflicted” health conditions–except one–there have been developed pharmacological interventions to aid the person in overcoming those health threatening challenges. (I’ll give just one example for these below. I am sure there are more.)

• Abusing nicotine? Here is the patch.
• Abusing alcohol? Here is antabuse.
• Abusing drugs (illicit or prescription)? Here is buprenorphine (for opioid abuse)

So, what about a (good quality and Dr. endorsed) pharmacological intervention to help those who are overweight (or abuse food) in order to help them ease their cravings along their journey to empower them to take control over their addiction? Well, there have been various pills through the decades offered to help control appetite. In the mid-1990s, doctors prescribed the popular appetite suppressant “phen-fen” (combination of phentermine and fenfluramine). However, fenfluramine and Redux were withdrawn from the market in 1997 because they caused damage to heart valves. Phentermine is still available by prescription. But Drs. seem very reticent to prescribe phentermine (and of course, insurance won’t cover it even if a Dr. would prescribe it) or any other pharmacological intervention that may be available to help obese patients lose weight. (Oh yes, there is “Alli” which takes the approach of having individuals poop out the fat).

So, what is the (seemingly) knee-jerk prescription of doctors to their obese patients in order to help them overcome being overweight (and possible addiction to food)? Life-threatening surgery. Sure… it may have worked for Star Jones and Al Roker… for now.

However, I have seen so many individuals that I personally know of who did not achieve lasting benefits from these surgical interventions for obesity. Furthermore, in some cases people I know of have subsequently and prematurely died as a result of those surgical interventions for obesity.

These interventions for overweight (or obese) individuals seem so extreme when compared to interventions offered for other dependence/abuse/over-use issues. By way of comparison do we quadrant off 75% of a smokers lungs so that they won’t be able to take in as much smoke? No.

I know I am not a Dr. and much of this may seem like oversimplification, but like I said–it is my unbalanced rant on my journey to balance! I know this is not the end of my thoughts on this topic. However, it is the beginning of a busy day, so for now I will bookmark this and come back to it.