We are proud to present our new bariatric weight loss website. While we obviously still have a few kinks to work out, we hope that you find it both informative and helpful in your weight loss journey. If you have any questions please feel free to call or e-mail us using the appropriate information provided in our weight loss pages.

Aetna, United Healthcare Each Change Policy to Cover Newer Method of Bariatric Surgery

GAINESVILLE, FL – APRIL 19, 2010 – The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) today announced its support of recent policy changes by Aetna Inc. and United Healthcare. The national health insurance giants will now cover laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a newer method of bariatric surgery that is becoming increasingly popular as a treatment for morbid obesity.
“We are pleased that Aetna and United Healthcare now includes sleeve gastrectomy among its covered bariatric procedures,” said John W. Baker, MD, FACS, President of ASMBS. “In the rapidly changing field of bariatric and metabolic surgery, it is important to provide coverage and access to a wide range of proven treatment methods. Sleeve gastrectomy has now reached that threshold where the data and our experience with the procedure supports its safe and effective use in people affected by the chronic disease of morbid obesity.”

The ASMBS first issued a position statement on sleeve gastrectomy in 2007, but updated it in November 2009 after the peer-reviewed publication of new data and the increasing use of the procedure.
In sleeve gastrectomy, the stomach is surgically reduced to a thin, vertical sleeve that is about 15 percent of the original size of the stomach. Patients feel full faster and consume less, which results in significant weight loss and improved health.

Prior the policy change, Aetna and United Healthcare classified sleeve gastrectomy as „investigational‟ and would not cover the procedure. Aetna began covering the procedure this month and United Healthcare began in October 2009. Other bariatric procedures covered by these and many insurers include Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding and Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch.

“We will continue to work with the medical community and coverage providers to improve access to bariatric and metabolic surgery so that we can more effectively meet the needs of patients,” said Robin Blackstone, MD, FACS, Chairman of Access to Care Committee, ASMBS. “We hope other insurers will follow the lead of Aetna and United Healthcare and expand coverage to include sleeve gastrectomy as a medically necessary treatment option.”

Lapband centers of Texas will be hosting a FREE weightloss management seminar in Killeen TX on March 6th at the Killeen Civic Center at 10 am.

Seminar dates and Locations

Austin:

March 4th, 10:00 am
March 16th, 10:00 am

Corpus Christi:

March 6th, 10:00 am
March 19th, 10:00 am

San Antonio:

March 10th, 10:00 am
March 10th, 6:30 pm
March 19th, 12:00 Noon
March 20th, 10:00 am

Killeen:

March 6th, 10:00 am

Temple: (Killeen Location)

March 6th, 10:00 am

There’s an “obesity epidemic” in the U.S., and that means there’s probably one at your workplace, too. Obesity is a natural target for wellness programs. The effects of obesity—from cardiac problems to diabetes—are dire, but they are reversible through exercise, diet, and nutrition.

What works best to reduce obesity? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set out to find out what works in weight control. They identified six promising strategies and then developed a program, LEAN Works!.  (Check out their program at cdc.gov/leanworks.)

“LEAN” stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. It’s a free Web-based resource that offers interactive tools and evidence-based resources to design effective worksite obesity prevention and control programs. It includes an obesity cost calculator to estimate how much obesity is costing your company and how much savings your company could realize with different workplace interventions.

The program is based on research findings from the Guide to Community Preventive Services. The Guide summarizes what is known about the effectiveness, economic efficiency, and feasibility of interventions to promote community health and prevent disease.

Promising practices are strategies delivered to employees through their employer that demonstrate a reduction in a “weight-related outcome” (i.e., weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio) or prevalence of individuals who are overweight or obese.

As you can see in this chart, CDC divides its promising practices into three groups: environmental and policy, informational and educational, and behavioral interventions.

Which of these promising practices deserve a place in your wellness program? Here’s some more detail on what CDC found.

Corporate wellness programs show great ROI. And they are win-win—employees feel better and are more productive, and employers reap the benefits. Even small improvements make a difference.

Environmental and Policy Strategies

Environmental and policy strategies address the entire workforce or large groups of workers (not individuals) and target physical and organizational structures to develop worksite policies that support healthy behaviors. They are likely to be sustained for a longer period of time than individually oriented strategies.

Promising Practice #1: Enhanced Access to Opportunities for Physical Activity Combined with Health Education

Enhanced access to opportunities for physical activity combined with health education refers to practices that enable or facilitate access to physical activity programs, workshops, classes, and other resources in a worksite setting.

Such practices can include:

• Developing walking trails,
• Building a fitness center at the worksite, or
• Creating a par course (fitness trail).

CDC found five studies that evaluated the effectiveness of enhanced access. The studies’ mean weight reduction was 3.24 percent.

Informational and Educational Strategies

Informational and educational strategies focus on the provision of information designed to increase awareness and knowledge as a requisite to motivate behavioral change.

These strategies present both general health information, including information about weight loss and maintenance, chronic disease prevention and risk reduction, and specific information about physical activity and nutrition.

Promising Practice #2: Exercise Prescriptions Alone

Exercise prescriptions involve a planned or structured physical activity regimen given to an individual or group that includes specific recommendations for the frequency, intensity, and type of exercise.

The programs reviewed typically recruit participants into voluntary groups at the worksites. After completing physical fitness evaluations, participants are placed in exercise training programs of mild, moderate, or vigorous intensity.

Wellness—NO downside! Impressive ROI, so management’s happy. Better health and employees are happy. And that means HR is happy. BLR’s Workplace Wellness is the key to developing your workplace wellness program.

Promising Practice #3: Multi-component Educational Practices

Multi-component educational practices are aimed at providing information, addressing health promotion (e.g., healthy lifestyles, physical activity, and nutrition), and risk reduction (e.g., weight management, cardiovascular risks, and diabetes risks).

In addition to health education sessions, these programs incorporated components such as exercise prescription, nutrition prescription, and small media (e.g., brochures, pamphlets, electronic messages).

CDC found 24 studies that evaluated the effectiveness of multi-component programs, 17 of which measured weight. They showed a median loss of 5.2 pounds.

In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll cover more of CDC’s recommendations, and we’ll take a look at a unique wellness program guide that will help your company develop a cost-effective program of its own.

Other Recent Articles on HR Policies and Procedures

San Antonio TX weight loss support group

Clarity Bariatrics and Lap band centers of Texas are proud to announce our opening of our San Antonio weight loss support group on our FREE weight loss support social network website. The site as well as the group are totally FREE to join. We are looking for people that are motivated to lose weight or give advice on weight loss to go join the site.

San Antonio TX FREE weightloss support group

We have started our weightloss solutions help network. This website is a community outreach that is meant to have support groups and testimonials of how people have lost weight both medically and surgically. The website is FREE to signup on and is built in a Facebook, Myspace style. You can have your own profile and join groups as you see fit. This a FREE weightloss resource for YOU! Anyone can leave tips and advice on weightloss and weight loss solutions.

A safe, reliable, and effective surgical weight loss procedure is available through Clarity Bariatrics. We are now offering the LAP-BAND® System procedure to morbidly obese (BMI >40 or BMI >35 with comorbidity) adult patients who have repeatedly failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives such as supervised diet, exercise, and behavior modification programs. The LAP-BAND® System provides effective, long-term weight loss with fewer risks and comparable results to that seen with standard gastric bypass.

The LAP-BAND® System, which is adjustable and fully reversible, is placed laparoscopically without cutting or stapling of the stomach or gastrointestinal rerouting to bypass normal digestion. In this way, the LAP-BAND® System creates an earlier feeling of fullness and limits food consumption. The adjustability of the band helps patients control their weight, and additional adjustments are performed as needed to continue and maintain weight loss.

Since the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the LAP-BAND® System in June 2001, interest in and use of the band have been growing rapidly. To date, more than 500,000 LAP-BAND® Systems have been sold worldwide.

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
Samuel Johnson

Looking for Holiday weight loss solutions. Maybe you’ve been looking for options for a while now. Weight loss surgery or Bariatric surgery could be the weight loss solution you have been looking for.

Restrictive (for example, the LAP-BAND® System)

Reduces the amount of food that your stomach can hold, but doesn’t interfere with normal digestion of food and nutrients.
Malabsorptive (for example, biliopancreatic diversion)
Shortens the digestive tract to limit the number of calories and nutrients that can be absorbed by your body.
Combination (for example, gastric bypass)
Restricts the amount of food the stomach can hold and reduces the number of calories absorbed by altering the digestive tract.

The two most commonly performed weight loss surgeries in the United States are the gastric bypass (combination procedure) and adjustable gastric banding with the LAP-BAND® System (restrictive procedure).