Student loses 175 lbs. in 14 months after gastric-sleeve surgery

Elizabeth Whitt and Don McNay

Elizabeth Whitt, an Eastern Kentucky University communications major from Richmond, Ky., decided to have gastric sleeve weight loss surgery when she was 19, and now, 14 months later, she has lost 175 pounds, Don McNay writes for The Huffington Post. McNay had the same surgery on Dec. 1 last year and has lost 70 pounds since then. He is writing a book called Project 199: My Business Plan to Lose 175 Pounds because he wants to drop from his original weight of 377 pounds to 199.

While McNay had the surgery at age 55 as a last chance to avoid an early death, Elizabeth had the surgery in college, when most people are not thinking about death. Dr. Derek Weiss at Bluegrass Bariatric in Lexington, Ky., operated on both of them. Weiss said that "doing weight loss surgery on a teenager had been rare before the gastric sleeve became more common as the risk of complications is lower than the other surgeries," McNay writes. Weiss said that "LSG is a tool. It limits the amount you can eat very successfully. But I think all LSG patients who succeed can take most of the credit themselves; they chose what to eat (and drink) and how much to exercise."

Whitt before (above) and after (below) with her health team

McNay talked with Whitt because although he had interviewed many experts already, he wanted to hear from someone who had been through the surgery. Whitt said the surgery has allowed her to be much more energetic and active. McNay asked Whitt how she was dealing with the sudden surge of attention from people who are drawn to success. She said she doesn't pay attention to men who express interest in her now but didn't talk to her when she was overweight. Whitt also noted that her parents did not support her having surgery until she presented them with research showing the benefits.

Michael and Debi Benson, the president and first spouse at EKU, said Whitt babysits their three children. President Benson said, "Debi and I are very grateful for Elizabeth and have marveled at her physical transformation. This change has allowed her inner beauty, which has always been radiant and contagious, to shine through even more."

"It took all of my forcus and courage to have the surgery at age 55," McNay writes. "There is no way I would have undertaken it at age 19. . . . When I weigh in at 199 pounds and hit the same 175 weight loss number that Elizabeth hit, I will say one thing for certain: she has been my inspiration. And my hero." (Read more)

Humana plan members can join Weight Watchers free for six months, get 'a significant discount thereafter,' companies say

Humana Inc. and Weight Watchers International Inc. are teaming up to help employers attack the rising level of obesity and its health-related impacts.

Employees in Humana-managed, employer-sponsored health plans now have free and discounted access to Weight Watchers through an integrated wellness program built into their health plan, the first program of its kind, the two companies said in a news release.

Plan members who want to lose weight can join Weight Watchers free for six months, "and at a significant discount thereafter," the release said. "Weight Watchers helps people adopt a healthier lifestyle that results in achieving and learning to maintain a healthy weight."

Remke Markets, a family-owned grocer with 12 locations in Kentucky and Ohio, is offering the program to its 900 employees.

“What I like about this program is that it actively connects people who want to get to a healthy weight with a trusted, well-known and effective program, and then helps make it affordable,” President Matthew Remke said. “The health risk that extra weight poses for our associates and their families is reason enough to want to attack the problem, but there are also serious consequences of an unhealthy workforce for an employer trying to compete in a tough marketplace.”

Most overweight diabetics don't know how much to exercise for weight loss, and they don't exercise enough

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Many overweight people with diabetes don't exercise enough for weight loss, and they also don't have a clear understanding of the recommended amount of exercise, according to a study reported by the Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.

The study, which looked at the exercise habits in people with diabetes, found that men with diabetes exercise more than women with diabetes, and, not surprisingly, that diabetic women who are trying to lose weight exercise more than those who aren't. But no one in the study was exercising the recommended amount for weight loss, according to the study report, published in American Journal of Health Promotion.

“We were not surprised that, overall, people with diabetes trying to lose weight were not engaging in enough physical activity,” study co-author Gina Pariser, associate professor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, said in a press release. "This finding emphasizes the need for health care professionals to provide more detailed and individualized education on exercise.”

Kentucky ranks 17th in diabetes and fifth in obesity, according to the 2014 "The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America" report. It also says that more than 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese.

"Adults who are overweight or obese are at an increased risk for developing diabetes," the release notes. "Regular participation in physical activity may not only help reduce weight, but also help treat diabetes, and may prevent consequences associated with physical inactivity."

Health-care professionals need to do more than just encourage their diabetic patients to exercise, the researchers say in the release.

“Education about specific amounts of physical activity is needed to achieve goals such as weight loss and blood sugar control,” Pariser said. “Plus, instruction in the use of tools to objectively measure the amount of physical activity, like pedometers, should be provided.”

This study analyzed the association between exercise and weight control in 733 adults with diabetes and 4,572 without diabetes. Participants used a device to measure their physical activity and were asked if they were trying to lose weight, trying to maintain their weight or neither trying to lose nor maintain weight. For more information about diabetes and exercise, click here.