Treating Obesity
"We see people who have tried everything to lose weight but haven't succeeded," says Dr. Louis J. Aronne, clinical professor of medicine and director of the Comprehensive Weight-Control Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "It is very gratifying to be able to help them accomplish their goals, using tools that were not available even four or five years ago. It is amazing to see it work."
Dr. Aronne is working to better understand the "feed forward" mechanism that may be driving weight gain: The more fattening foods you eat, the more your body craves the same unhealthy foods.
"Obesity is a complicated disease," he explains. "There are a complex series of mechanisms that stop people from losing weight. By understanding what those systems are and how they interact, we will be able to treat obesity more effectively in the future."
Complications of obesity are widespread and can include stroke, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and diabetes. Today, some of the most promising developments are in the areas of diabetes and obesity. "In the past, being treated with insulin alone for diabetes often led to weight gain," says Dr. Aronne. "Ideally, we want someone who is being treated for diabetes to also lose weight. We now have ways to combine treatments — such as less-invasive surgical procedures and better medications — that are leading to weight loss in addition to good control of glucose."
The Research Leads to Cures Initiative
Dr. Aronne and other Weill Cornell physicians are making great advances in understanding, treating and preventing obesity, diabetes and a host of other debilitating diseases. These researchers are the heart of the Research Leads to Cures initiative — a new and critical phase of the Discoveries that Make a Difference campaign.