BOSTON — Massive numbers of Americans will be vowing to lose weight in the new year -- some will succeed, many will fail.
In the last few years the view of what causes obesity and how best to treat it has changed. Bottom line: for some overweight people calories in vs. calories out is not the only answer.
The doctors and staff at MGH are now treating obesity and being overweight as a disease.
"If you had any other disease process, you would likely not blame yourself for that disease. So if you got breast cancer you wouldn't say oh my goodness this is my fault," said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, who practices obesity medicine at MGH Weight Center.
It's somewhat controversial because there are definitely groups out there that promote an organic approach to weight loss through cutting calories, resisting temptation and other similar strategies.
MGH says imbalances of certain physiological brain chemicals causes obesity and being overweight.
"We think there are about a hundred different reasons why someone may struggle with weight. We know that there's about 60 different types of obesity. Meaning obesity that responds to different types of therapy," said Dr. Stanford.
To learn more about the approach at MGH, you can request an appointment online.