A State-of-the-Art Weight Loss Facility
The Director of the Risk Factor Obesity Program (RFO), David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is internationally prominent in the fields of nutrition, metabolism, obesity and its associated complications. He has published seminal research articles on the causes of obesity, weight loss strategies, and the relationship of obesity to cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The RFO Program has been in operation for over twenty-five years (originated in the mid-1970's by Morton H. Maxwell, M.D.). The RFO Program was one of the first university programs to perform research and clinically practice the use of very low calorie diets (VLCD) in the treatment of severe obesity. This program was among the first to utilize prescription appetite-suppressants as an integral component of obesity treatment.
What Constitutes A State-Of-The-Art Weight Loss Facility?
In the medical literature, obesity is referred to as a "multifactorial disorder". This means that there is no single cause for overweight or obesity. Rather, it is a combination of genetic, metabolic, psychosocial, environmental and behavioral factors. Therefore, no single scheme or technique for weight loss will be successful in all overweight individuals. Rather, a truly comprehensive program must include a variety of modalities and techniques. Patient care must be individualized, so that the techniques and resources most likely to be successful in any given patient are employed. A state-of-the-art program should also continually analyze its own results and success rates as well as those of others in order to modify and constantly improve its results. It must, of course, adhere to the first principle of the Hippocratic oath: "Above all do no harm."
Authorities in the field of obesity as well as governmental health agencies specify that state-of-the-art weight loss programs should include, in the minimum, a reduced caloric intake, physical activity promotion and a behavior modification component. Because of the high rate of recidivism and weight regain, a comprehensive program must also include an excellent long-term maintenance modality.
The RFO Program at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition is one of the few facilities in the country fulfilling all of these criteria and therefore a state-of-the art weight loss facility!
