The Battle of the Bulge
To reduce obesity and its medical complications, Barnes-Jewish Hospital opened the Veronica and Robert C. Atkins Center for Excellence in Obesity Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
This is the first Center in the country funded by the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation. Its goal is to facilitate research, provide clinical and research training, support patient care, and create community outreach programs focusing on obesity.
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States, with an estimated 30 percent of the population weighing in on the high side of the scale.
In St. Louis city and county, a whopping 63 percent of the population is overweight or obese.
Fatness is associated with a number of medical complications, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including:
- High blood pressure -- hypertension
- High blood cholesterol
- Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes
- Insulin resistance, glucose intolerance
- Coronary heart disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
- Gout
- Osteoarthritis
- Obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems
- Some types of cancer such as endometrial, breast, prostate and colon
- Complications of pregnancy
- Poor female reproductive health such as menstrual irregularities, infertility, irregular ovulation
- Bladder control problems such as stress incontinence
- Psychological disorders such as depression, eating disorders, distorted body image, and low self-esteem
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Learn more about the Atkins Center for Obesity Medicine.
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