Jerry Seinfeld, in his bestselling book. Scin Language, states. "Everyone wants to be healthy, but no one knows where to begin." We begin here—now—today. My objective in life became making a difference in the Healthcare Crisis. The adulation of dnigs and surgery that dominates our country's consciousness needs to be changed. We need to stop treating the symptoms: we need to treat and remove the cause. Sublimations are key to our practice, but obesity is sweeping across our nation. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese. During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. In 2010. no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-six states had a prevalence of 25% or more: 12 of these states (Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Louisiana. Michigan. Mississippi, Missouri. Oklahoma. South Carolina, Tennessee. Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more. My background is simple. I wrote my first book. LIFESTYLE OF THE FIT & FAMOUS, and appeared on almost every Good Morning show in America. Weight loss was an important part of my practice, but that was just the beginning. I later became President. COO. of Complete Wcllncss Centers, on (NASDAQ) Wall Street, where we acquired 50% of the weight loss company Nutrisystem. Yes, weight loss is big business, and I got to sec firsthand the business structure. Just note this: how many commercials do you see on television for Nutrisystem. Jenny Craig. Weight Watchers? How mam do you see for Chiropractic? Yet weight loss is something every chiropractor can provide in their office. Recently. I had the pleasure to appear on the Dr. Oz Show. What a delightful man. w hat a unique experience. Prior to the taping we sat and talked about the changing landscape of health care in our world today. Dr. Oz. a Harvard trained surgeon, believes in prevention, and believes and acknowledges chiropractic. He believes in most aspects of alternative health care. We agreed that the best way to treat disease and reduce health care costs was to change the paradigm of treatment. We must stop just treating symptoms and start attacking the cause. Often the cause is our environment, the goods we eat. We live in a toxic world. The first key is to remove your body of these toxins. Dr. 0/believes an educated patient is the key to our success in this country. Just imagine, last year 300.000 people died as a result of obesity. It is the #2 preventable cause of death in our country. Obesity is related to a poor health paradigm. It is your job as a physician to explore a patients health history. Yet this is something we can provide to our patients. Weight loss is big business, a billion dollar industry, one that we as doctors should tap into. Patients come in to lose weight for two basic reasons: 1. Cosmetic 2. Health Unfortunately, cosmetic reasons moti- vate the patients more than health. It is the physician's job to explore the latter. By providing weight loss with chiropractic care, you can build your practice. To make it simple we recently started Palm Beach Slim as a marketing avenue for chiropractors wanting to do weight loss. http://www.palnibcaclislim.coni/. Weight loss, smoking cessation, chiropractic care, and physical therapy are all under the scope of our license. All arc keys to preventive care and wcllncss care. As the captain of your vessel, you must direct the patient toward wcllncss care. The symptom surveys/ intake forms they fill out on their first visit are your map. Find out where the patient is and navigate them in the best direction. Obesity and health problems are a modern-day fact of life in our country... Obesity is prevalent in so many symptoms we see in our practice daily, from back pain, muscle pain, joint pain, as well as a host of other health issues, especially heart disease. No intelligent person could argue that obesity and disease arc not related. Weight loss and obesity are big business. A proven fact is that the health-related cost of obesity lias been estimated to exceed $80 billion per year. Worse, health-related problems arc a collection of the most severe medical conditions and diseases. We are in the prevention business, and obesity ranks second to smoking as America's most preventable cause of death... here's why! HEART DISEASE Many heart attacks are the result of obesity, which is a precursor to heart disease. This condition occurs when fatty plaque builds up in the arteries, restricting blood How to the body's organs. Obesity doubles the risk of heart disease. TYPE 2 DIABETES 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Diabetes is a major cause of death and leading contributor to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and blindness. If you want an obesity definition defined by a single disease, type 2 diabetes is it. An obesity disease if there ever was one. • 25.8 million Americans have diabetes — 8.3 percent of the U.S. population. Of these. 7 million do not know they have the disease. • In 2010. about 1.9 million people ages 20 or older were diagnosed with diabetes. • The number of people diagnosed with diabetes lias risen from 1.5 million in 1958 to 18.8 million in 2010. an increase of epidemic proportions. • It is estimated that 79 million adults aged 20 and older have prcdiabctcs. Prediabctcs is a condition where blood glucose lev els arc higher than normal but not high enough for diabetes. STROKE Stroke can paralyze or even kill its victim. Obesity is one of many causes of stroke. Obesity can lead to fat deposits in the arteries. These may form blood clots that travel to the brain, blocking blood and oxygen flow and causing stroke. The health effects of obesity cannot be disputed. Obesity significantly raises the risk factor for these and other diseases like sleep apnea and colon, breast, and gallbladder cancer. Obesity and disease is real, affecting not only your physical condition but your emotional and psychological health as well. So lefs start here and now with the basics. We learned in physiology that constant add on of calorics and excessive sugar and fats in our bodies leads to obesity. Unhealthy eating habits with little exercise will lead to our bodies not burning enough calorics at the pace we consume them. Combine this with a sedentary life that mam patients who work daily lead and you arc looking at major factors that contribute to one's obesity. Apart from these, age. gender, genetics, environmental factors, physical activity, psychological factors, illnesses and medication are some other aspects that add to an increase in BMI index. Good nutrition involves understanding what our body needs in terms of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Once we understand what our body's, or our patient's body's, requirements are. we can then develop or provide the patient with a diet plan to suit their needs and help them stay physically fit. Weight loss, combined with nutrition and chiropractic, is the essence of a wcllncss practice. In developing a wellncss practice, providing weight loss and fitness protocols will teach the patient about eating healthy. Now. once you combine this with proper diet and routine exercise you will have the patient begin to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Remember, if you offer massage, have your therapist do a ccllulitc analysis. Ccllulitc is the result of excessive fat that is deposited under our skin, which in turn gives it a dimpled look. Now combine this with lactic acid, which will also result in sore muscles: sec the wellncss connection? Overweight people more often than not have spinal problems and have to deal with them on an everyday basis. Weight loss will add new patients to your practice. Remember the body works in cycles, similar to nature. The key is balance. Putting on weight is the body's warning sign. Even our digestive tract sometimes needs a vacation. The key is never feeling too full, which can also be called stomach overload. Stomach overload occurs when more food is eaten than the body can efficiently utilize. When this excess food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, it will cause a systematic overload. This in turn creates stress, which affects the glandular system. Moderation is the key to any successful diet. Occasional o\ creating is not what causes people to develop a weight problem; however. I have seen main patients who insist that their weight problems result from overindulgence on weekends. I've frequently had patients tell me. "Doc. I gained five pounds this weekend." This seems unlikely in view of the fact that one pound represents 3.500 calories: in order to gain five pounds, a person must consume five times this amount, or 17.500 calorics. Not very realistic. Tin afraid. Weight accumulates slowly. If you cat an extra 100 calorics per day. you will gain 10 pounds in one year or 30 pounds in three years. Help your practice by helping your patients understand obesity. Don"t lose patients, help them lose weight. I share the secrets to health, happiness and success in my new book. The 5 Minute Motivator. What makes this book so unique is that it allows the reader to take control of their lives "5 Minutes" at a time. To learn more about how to change your life "5 Minutes" at a time go to: \v\v\v.5minutcmotivator.com. Dr. Eric S. Kaplan, a former President COO of a NA-SAO traded public company, which included Xulrisystem, Currently he is CEO of Concierge Coaches. Inc.. www. conciergecoaches.com. a comprehensive coaching firm with a successful, documented history of assisting doctors create profitable practices nationwide, providing over 30 New Patient marketing Programs. Teaching doctors nationally how to develop a successful business in the health care industry of today.. Dr. Kaplan is the best selling author of Dying to be Young, and Lifestyle of the Fit and Famous and Co-developer and President of Discforce and Palm Beach Massage Centers, www.phmassage.info. the next Generation Chiropractic Practices, massage and Spinal decompression For more information on coaching or spinal decompression, call 1-561-626-3004.
