The Miriam Hospital
With obesity on the rise in America and weight loss becoming a focus of an increasingly overweight population, some find themselves needing more help than others. Despite the seemingly endless array of diets, exercise programs and self-help tools, some people--particularly seriously obese people--may need more customized help.
The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, has gained acclaim for its weight-loss clinic.
The Miriam Approach
The Miriam Hospital works with patients who are overweight at any level. However, it offers special support to the obese.
The Miriam program takes an inter-disciplinary approach to weight loss. Patients work with physicians, exercise physiologists, psychologists, dietitians and social workers. The team looks at every aspect of the patient's situation. Among the considerations are motivations and needs in eating and exercising, effective exercise plans, good nutrition as a basis of losing weight, and manage weight loss and weight maintenance in the world in which the patient lives.
In addition to whatever specific food and exercise regime a patient undergoes, the patient also participates in 16 to 28 weeks of weekly group sessions with other patients. The program focuses on rethinking the way people relate to food and their bodies and rethinking their life strategies in these areas. It may also address other psychological and clinical issues that may contribute to a person's weight problem.
The Biggest Loser
The Miriam Hospital also studied competition as a stimulus for weight loss. It was a sponsor in a program called Shape Up Rhode Island 2007. The study involved 4,717 people who were divided into four teams to see which team could lose the most weight in 12 weeks. About 70 percent of the participants remained in the program until the end.
The Miriam Hospital concluded that the more physically active participants and teams did the best. It also concluded that competition--similar to the format of the TV show, "The Biggest Loser" --is an effective way to encourage weight loss.
Group participation is part of weight loss treatment at The Miriam Hospital.
Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center
The Miriam Hospital is affiliated with the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and Brown University Medical School. The center does clinical research on weight loss topics including adolescent weight control, pediatric weight control, weight control during and after pregnancy, how family dinners affect children's weight, living lean in a toxic environment and stop weight re-gain.
The Marian Hospital is a clinical site for the center and also incorporates and implements procedures and programs of its own based on the research findings.
