Bariatric Clinics: Comprehensive Weight Loss Care

Bariatric clinics are specialized medical facilities that provide services to help people struggling with severe obesity and weight management. As obesity rates continue rising globally, bariatric clinics play an increasingly vital role in helping patients achieve long-term weight loss success.

What are Bariatric Clinics?

Bariatric clinics offer customized programs that go beyond just surgery to promote lifestyle changes for sustainable weight loss. The term “bariatrics” refers to the branch of medicine that focuses on the treatment and prevention of obesity. Bariatric clinics bring together a team of professionals with expertise in nutrition, exercise physiology, psychology, and weight loss procedures. This comprehensive approach empowers patients to make the dietary, fitness, emotional and lifestyle adjustments needed to better manage their weight.

Services Offered

In addition to weight loss surgeries like gastric bypass, gastric banding or sleeve gastrectomy, bariatric clinics provide an array of services to support patients from pre-surgery preparations through long-term weight maintenance. These services include:

• Nutritional Counseling: Meeting with a registered dietician to develop healthy eating plans tailored to patients’ preferences and weight loss goals. Counseling may continue post-surgery to promote optimal dietary changes.

• Psychological Counseling: Evaluations to identify and support any emotional, self-esteem or other psychological factors that may contribute to weight gain. Ongoing counseling provides coping techniques.

• Support Groups: Group sessions to share challenges, successes and tips with others pursuing weight loss through bariatric programs. Provides community.

• Exercise Programs: Guidance from fitness experts to establish sustainable physical activity plans that complement dietary changes and weight loss goals.

The Expertise of Bariatric Physicians

A vital component of the bariatric clinic team are the experienced bariatric physicians that oversee each patient’s care. Bariatric physicians complete advanced specialty training in bariatric medicine after their general surgery residencies. This specialized expertise equips them to:

• Thoroughly assess potential patients to determine if they meet criteria and stand to benefit from weight loss surgery procedures. Surgical candidacy depends on health history and existing conditions.

• Educate patients on different types of bariatric surgeries to align goals and anatomy with the optimal procedure for each individual. Surgeries differ in approach, risks and lifestyle impacts.

• Perform procedures including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding and aspiration therapy using minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical techniques when possible.

• Provide medical guidance and monitoring before and long after procedures to track progress and ensure ongoing vitamin supplementation and other tailored support.

Benefits of Working with a Bariatric Physician

The compassion and experience of bariatric physicians drive the customized care that makes bariatric clinics effective for meeting patient needs and facilitating profound lifestyle transformation. Their expertise allows for a level of personalization not always possible in general weight loss programs. Benefits of bariatric clinics include:

• Improved Quality of Life: Losing excess weight can greatly boost self-confidence and allow fuller participation in daily activities. Physical mobility, personal relationships and professional lives often improve with sustained weight loss.

• Reduced Health Risks: Long-term weight management facilitated through bariatric clinics reduces incidence of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis pain, respiratory issues, stroke risk and certain cancers.

For those facing health and emotional struggles with obesity, bariatric clinics offer a life-changing path by addressing weight loss from multiple angles.