Forty Monroe County residents participated in the American Heart Association’s Start! Heart Walk May 16 in South?eld, including Sharon Bowman, Terri Moore, Mike Moore, Staci Compher, Steve Vitale, Jennifer Emery, Susan Martinez, Cherrie VerWoert, Melissa Thomas and Dr. Steven Bell.

Forty Monroe County residents were among thou- sands who took part in the American Heart Associa- tion Start! Heart Walk on May 16 in Southfield. The event, a walk and a five kilometer run, included local residents who have graduated from Great Lakes Weight and Wellness, a Monroe-based weight- loss program owned by Dr. Stephen Bell. Each has lost at least 80 pounds or more since joining the program.

The event also brought awareness to cardiovascular disease. Staci Compher of New- port took part in the event not only for her own physi- cal health but in memory of her husband, who died nearly two years ago of dilated cardiomyopathy. To date, Mrs. Compher has lost 140 pounds. Area residents partici- pating in the event raised $1,000 for the American Heart Association.

The original article is available as a PDF here monroe-evening-news-aha-great-lakes-0602091

Photo courtesy of Melissa Thomas

For forty Monroe County residents, the culmination of a life-changing goal concluded with a race to the finish. On May 16th , these individuals participated in the American Heart Association 5K Run in Southfield. What made this event so remarkable is that many of these participants had been morbidly obese not more than 6 to 12 months ago.

For Newport resident Staci Compher, participating in the event was more than just completing a physical feat she would have thought impossible only a year ago. “I am here today for my husband,” she confides. “He passed away 19 months ago of a dilated cardiomyopathy. We had fought obesity together for years.” Staci proudly ran with his picture while wearing his watch. “I know he’s here with me, with every step.” With so many steps taken, Staci has shed 140 pounds, but still plans to climb higher and lose even more. “Now I have to set an example for our daughters to live a more active lifestyle.”

Jenifer Emery of Newport agrees with Staci. “I have a three year old son and the way I was living my life was not a good example. I want to be around to watch him grow and to watch him as a father teach his children the healthy lessons I had taught him.” Echoing this belief is Steve Vitale of Monroe. “Heart disease has touched my family,” he reveals, “and has touched my life as well. I refuse to be a victim and I am changing my lifestyle for a better tomorrow.”

All of the participants are graduates of Great Lakes Weight and Wellness, a Monroe based weight loss program focusing on medical supervision, meal plan replacements, and behavioral counseling. “Seeing people become physically active for the first time in years, and for a good cause, is very rewarding and helps to remind us all,” shares program director Melissa Thomas, “that healthy living, while often neglected in these stressful times, is very much the key to our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Plus, having been overweight myself, I know first hand what that change is like, and the lifetime benefits it brings.”

Owner Dr. Stephen Bell agrees. “The 5k walk for the AHA was a great time to reflect on the tragedy of cardiovascular disease from a number of angles. It was a great opportunity for my wife, Michelle, and I to have the conversation with our boys about the importance of living in a healthy way and to demonstrate our collective support for victims of this cruel disease. It was extraordinarily gratifying to see how far and how fast our Great Lakes Weight and Wellness patients have come. Their courage and stamina has led them to dramatic lifestyle changes and their achievement is an inspiration to all of us. They reinforce our commitment to helping patients improve their lives, and the worth our endeavors at Great Lakes Weight and Wellness. We feel very privileged to be able to participate in the AHA walk with these successful patients.”

In addition to the physical accomplishment, Monroe County participants raised $1,000 for the American Heart Association.

Welcome to the new Great Lakes Weight and Wellness Website! Things sure have been busy around here. We finally moved to the new building and we absolutely love it! Br. Bell has been asked to speak on our local public access channel two times in one month. He loves getting the message out. I hope some of you got a chance to view it.

Our weight loss patients have been making HUGE gains, which is to say, HUGE losses. They’re so happy about it we made an infomercial about it. It will air December 6th, right after Saturday Night Live! You can see some of the testimonials’ right on this page. Just take a peak over at the left side under “Recent Videos.” We’re very excited!

Enough about us. Tell us what you think. This website was designed to deliver information as quickly as possible to you our patients. What do you want to see, perhaps more recipes? Maybe more tips on how to stay fit or videos showing proper exercise technique? We’re here to help you out in any way we can. PLEASE visit the “Contact Us” page and tell us what you’re thinking.

The obesity epidemic is well known to be a growing problem not just in this country and in the state of Michigan, but right here at home in Monroe county, where we have one of the highest obesity rates in the nation.

Great Lakes Weight and Wellness, centered in Newport, has an integrated medical treatment program for the diagnosis of obesity and its many related health problems. The program is run by staff who all have both a personal and professional interest in helping overweight patients lose significant amounts of weight and learn a healthy lifestyle to keep the weight off, using medical rather than surgical tools.

Please come join us December 13th @ 11:00am to learn more about the health and medical benefits of a structured medical weight loss program

Orthopaedic

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis

Blount’s Disease

Early Osteoarthritis

Painful Flat Feet

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Avascular Necrosis of Femoral Head

Genu valgus

Neurology

Pseudotumor cerebri

Increased Neural Tube Defects with Maternal Obesity

Pulmonary

Sleep Apnea or Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome

Asthma

Daytime Somnolence

Gastrointestinal

Steatohepatitis

Gallbladder Disease

Acute Pancreatitis

Gynecology

Polycystic Ovarian Disease

Hyperandrogenism

Amenorrheal/Oligomenorrhea

Hirsutism

Fertility Problems

Endocrine

Diabetes Mellitus

Hyperinsulinemia/Insulin Resistance

Metabolic Syndrome (Dysmetabolic Syndrome, Syndrome X)

Prediabetes (Impaired Glucose Tolerance)

Hypertension

Gynecomastia

Hypogonadism

Cardiovascular

Post-Exercise Tolerance

Easy Fatigueability

Dyslipidemia (Early Cardiovascular Disease)

Deep Vein Thrombosis or Hypercoaguability

Increased Risk of CVD (Increased Fibrinogen, increased CRP, increased PAI-1 [Phasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1])

Psychology

Other Eating Disorders

Depression or Poor Self-Esteem

Ostracism

Oncology

Increased Risk of Cancer—Breast, Colorectal, Endometral, Esophageal, Renal, Pancreatic

Metabolic

Gout

Infectious

Yeast Infections

Skin

Acanthosis, Nigricans, Skin Tags

Striae

Necrosis Lipoidica Diabeticorum

Acne

Maceration with Skin Folds

Falliculitis

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for people. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).^{1, 2} BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat. Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems.

How is BMI used?

BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for adults. However, BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, a person may have a high BMI. However, to determine if excess weight is a health risk, a healthcare provider would need to perform further assessments. These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.

Why use BMI to measure overweight and obesity?

Calculating BMI is one of the best methods for population assessment of overweight and obesity. Because calculation requires only height and weight, it is inexpensive and easy to use for clinicians and for the general public. The use of BMI allows people to compare their own weight status to that of the general population.

How reliable is BMI as an indicator of body fatness?

The correlation between the BMI number and body fatness is fairly strong; however the correlation varies by sex, race, and age. These variations include the following examples: ^{3, 4}

• At the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men.
• At the same BMI, older people, on average, tend to have more body fat than younger adults.
• Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness.

It is also important to remember that BMI is only one factor related to risk for disease. For assessing someone’s likelihood of developing overweight- or obesity-related diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines recommend looking at two other predictors:

• The individual’s waist circumference (because abdominal fat is a predictor of risk for obesity-related diseases).
• Other risk factors the individual has for diseases and conditions associated with obesity (for example, high blood pressure or physical inactivity).

Is BMI interpreted the same way for children and teens as it is for adults?

Although the BMI number is calculated the same way for children and adults, the criteria used to interpret the meaning of the BMI number for children and teens are different from those used for adults. For children and teens, BMI age- and sex-specific percentiles are used for two reasons:

• The amount of body fat changes with age.
• The amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.

Because of these factors, the interpretation of BMI is both age- and sex-specific for children and teens. The CDC BMI-for-age growth charts take into account these differences and allow translation of a BMI number into a percentile for a child’s sex and age.