Shoeleather Journalism in the Digital Age

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HonorHealth Bariatric Center offers multidisciplinary approach to tackling U.S. obesity epidemic

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Obesity affects every aspect of a person’s life from fertility to heart disease, from reflux disease to sleep apnea and he can talk about innovative treatments that he is working on through the HonorHealth Research Institute and how he can help patients lose weight. (File Photos/DigitalFreePress)
HonorHealth Bariatric Center seeks to forge better weight-loss health care
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press

As the latest — and most effective — appetite suppressant takes the nation by storm, medical professionals here in Arizona agree for the first time in modern medicine a drug is approaching some weight loss procedures better than surgery for weight loss.

For all intents and purposes, America is out of shape.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 2022 data shows in 22 states of the union 35% of adults are obese meanwhile in 2021 data illustrated 19 American states carrying the dubious dietary distinction.

Dr. James Swain, a board-certified bariatric surgeon at the HonorHealth Bariatric Center, has dealt with weight issues so he knows the personal struggles of excess weight and weight loss.

“It is making you think you are full — that is why people are eating less,” Dr. Swain told the Arizona Digital Free Press of semaglutide GLP-1 injection that typically occur once a week that, along with diet and exercise, may help improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. “This is the first time in modern medicine that we have a drug that mirrors what we do with surgery.”

Dr. Swain offers the advancement with GLP-1 drugs and similar appetite suppressors are a watershed moment in treating obesity meanwhile through his research has discovered a co-dependency people have with food and how hormones can spur and suppress appetite.

“In general, what the drug does is it affects the physical hunger response,” he said explaining the intricate relationship between the gastrointestinal tract, food and the brain. “I think these medications that are out now are going to help people make better decisions about food. One of the problem with GLP-1s it can kind of make you feel, ‘blah.’”

HonorHealth Bariatric Center seeks to forge better weight-loss health care

Obesity affects every aspect of a person’s life from fertility to heart disease, from reflux disease to sleep apnea but with innovative treatments through the HonorHealth Research Institute, Dr. Swain says new ways to approach drastic weight loss are emerging.

But one complaint Dr. Swain has encountered circles around how the current GLP-1 drug side effects can sometimes behave similarly to an antidepressant.

“Some people don’t like that the medications because it can effect other parts of the brain, and what we are working on are drugs that suppress appetite only,” he said. “There will always be people who will lean more into medication than surgery, but sometime with these drugs the patient is eating less, but less bad food.”

Dr. Swain says any significant weight loss causes a slowdown in our metabolism, which causes us to stop losing weight despite eating much less. People then become frustrated, blow their diet and regain their weight.

“You have to have good nutrition whenever you diet, you are not going to do well if you neglect a proper diet,” he pointed out. “The goal is to have a menu of options to help patients create effective diets and exercise programs. A lot of people do not want surgery — and that is good. But if there is something we need to do beyond diet and exercise it should come from a multidisciplinary medical practice.”

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