Choose To Lose, Part III

A CBS 2 News Special Assignment

CBS 2 News' Gretchen Carr shows us what people will go through when they finally choose to lose.

CBS 2 News Special Assignment: Choose To Lose, Part III aired Wednesday, September 30, 1998 at 11 p.m. (Editor's note: Choose to Lose, Part II aired Sept. 29, Part I aired Sept. 28)

It was two years ago that Isabel Velasco's doctor told her she was "morbidly obese" and her health was at risk.

"They told me I was borderline diabetic and if I didn't lose weight within a period of two to three years, I would become a full blown diabetic, living off insulin," Velasco told CBS 2 News' Gretchen Carr.

Velasco's blood pressure soared, her back ached and she even had trouble walking, which kept her from exercising.

Weight loss specialist Dr. Jeffery Ostriker says people who are as overweight as Velasco should drop 50 pounds before they can even consider exercising.

"You actually need to get in shape. It took (Velasco) years and years to get out of shape," Ostriker told Carr. "you're not going to do it overnight."

For Velasco, surgery was one of her options.

"Isabel had a stomach stapling procedure which essentially decreases the volume of her stomach," Ostriker explained. "(It) makes her send a message to the body that it's full with a lower volume of food."

"It helped a lot. It motivated me more to want to stay on the diet. You know, to watch what I eat, to take care of myself," said Velasco.

In the year following the surgery, Velasco dropped 85 pounds. But then her weight loss leveled off, said Carr. So Ostriker put her on Meridia, the first prescription diet drug that hit the market since fen-phen.

Meridia helped Velasco lose an additional 45 pounds.

"It's a lot more subtle with Meridia," said Ostriker. "It makes you not crave eating as much, and it makes no suffering as far as hunger pangs."

Another new drug called Xenical, will soon be up for the Food and Drug Administration's approval. The drug is supposed to reduce the amount of fat your body absorbs, except little is known about the long term health effect of drugs like Xenical and Meridia.

But for extremely overweight people, drugs and surgery, which are always a little risky, may sometimes be worth the chance, said Ostriker.

"That's what people need to know, doing nothing is a tremendous risk," he said.

Nevertheless, Ostriker said you should still be wary of quick weight-loss schemes.

"There are a lot of scams out there with people making claims of eat all you want and lose weight, and I don't see how that would possibly work," said Ostriker.

Valesco had a few words of encouragement for people battling a weight problem.

"Don't give up. Somewhere out there is the right doctor for you. Like I found my doctor, and he helped me through a lot," said Valesco. "He gave me the encouragement, pushed me, said we were going to get through it together, and voila!"

There's still no "magic bullet" to losing weight, said Carr. You simply have to burn more calories than you consume. But with a little help getting started and some encouragement to keep you on track, you will succeed.

More Information:

• Read the Mayo Clinic's official press release on the study.
• The full text of the unpublished article is available through the Mayo Clinic.
• The Mayo Clinic offers information and recommendations for people taking fen-phen.
• Mayo also provides information for physicians regarding pharmacologic therapy for obesity.
• For commonly asked questions, browse a Q&A; with the author of the report on the Mayo's Health O@sis site.
• Health O@sis also offer Editor's notes about the report.
• This page announcing the study includes animation of properly and abnormally functioning heart valves.

From our s:

• Oct. 20: Special Assignment: St. John's Wort
• Sept. 15: Fen-phen Damage: To Test or Not to Test
• Sept. 12: Lawsuit Calls Fen-phen a Medical 'Flim-flam'
• Aug. 28: Fen-phen, Redux: New Warning Required
• July 21: Lawsuit Looms for Fen-Phen Makers
• July 8: Fen-Phen: A Dangerous Diet?