I.M.120 Helping you to BE YOUR BEST SELF

At I.M.120, we have been successfully treating the problem of medically significant weight for over 20 years.

Our program is a response to the profound and broad nature of the problem, as well as an answer to the multiple programs that offer only a temporary respite from a patients unwanted adiposity, but afford no long-term solution.

Most programs, or even research papers looking at pharmacologic effects will typically report results out to no greater than six months. We consider this duration of monitoring to be fully inadequate. The results of long-term research demonstrates the almost inevitable pattern of relapsing weight gain after clients leave commercial weight-loss programs. Simply put, everybody seems to regain their weight regardless of their determination not to let it happen.

This paper summarizes the results of clients who have successfully completed an induction phase of treatment, followed by either on going intermittent therapy or chronic maintenance treatment.

Treatment

Our induction phase of treatment is a six-month guided program of nutritional and behavioral change along with supportive nutraceutical supplements and prescription medical therapy.

Our clients meet weekly for eight weeks, followed by another eight weeks meeting at two week intervals, and then concluding with a one-month gap before a summary visit.

At this point the client's progress and need's are reassessed. Further treatment is guided by results and goals. If target weight has been achieved, conversion into monthly maintenance is often the next step. In some cases, ongoing therapy is recommended. This is a negotiated treatment plan arrived at between the doctor, weight-loss counselor and the client.

Treatment decisions are adjusted throughout the program and are based on the clients input and the judgment of the doctor and weight-loss counselor.

The statistics summarized in this paper reflect patients who have been in the program for at least one year, and in some cases for greater than five years.

All of these patients were able to maintain their medically significant weight loss. The rate of weight regaining was effectively 0%. This type of long-term success is rarely seen in weight loss treatment, even in surgical treatments there is postoperative weight gain.

At this point, after greater than 10 years of using this approach, we have not reported any major medical side effects or complications.  Occasional minor side effects are quickly identified and rectified by the treatment team.

Results for Women

To give the results more individual meaning, they have been organized into groups based upon the starting body mass index (BMI) of the client.

Group 1 - women with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 30

The average weight loss for women in this group was 30.5 pounds, with an average percentage of weight loss of 18.5.

Group 2 - women with a BMI between 31 and 35

The average weight loss for this group was 30.25 pounds, with an average percentage of weight loss of 15.5.

The range of weight loss was from a low of 22 pounds, to a high of 49 pounds.

Group 3 - women with a BMI between 36 and 40.

The average weight loss in this group was 49.5 pounds, the average percentage of weight loss was 21.3.

The range of weight loss was from a low of 28 pounds, to a high of  70 pounds.

Group 4 - women with a BMI greater than 40

The average weight loss in this group was 79.2 pounds, percentage weight loss was averaged at 26.8.

The range was from a low of 32 pounds, to a high of 123 pounds.

Greater than 50% of the patients in this cohort had a weight loss of at least 90 pounds.

Results for men

Group 1 -  men with a body mass index (BMI) between 31 and 35

The average weight loss in this group was 40.6 pounds, the average percentage of loss was 17.6.

The range of weight loss was from a low of 23 pounds, to a high of 63 pounds.

Group 2 - men with a BMI between 36 and 40

The average weight loss in this group is 59.7 pounds for an average percentage weight loss of 24.3.

The range of weight loss was from a low of 56 pounds, to a high of 66 pounds.

Group 3 - men with the body mass index greater than 40

The average weight loss in this group was 112.5 pounds, with an average weight loss of 34.5.

The range of weight loss was a low of 77 pounds and a high of 148 pounds.

Conclusion

As you can see from the statistics summarized above, every patient who completed the program lost significant body weight.

Many of these patients were able to come off prescription medicine for conditions ranging from high blood pressure to arthritis to asthma to cholesterol and others.

When pharmacologic treatments are rendered, they are given in cycles depending on response to therapy. Inevitably, patients will cycle off of medical treatment and only use it as needed in the future.

The personal lifestyle changes that patients are guided towards become permanent. These represent the new, healthier normal pattern for clients to follow for the rest of their lives.

While individual results will vary, these results are typical and have proven to be consistently reproducible.

Nowhere in the country is there a more advanced, successful or safe medical weight loss program.

- Dr. Stephen Petteruti