Is your weight impacting your health?
What to Expect
Prior to a person’s arrival at our clinic, they must complete a questionnaire that can be mailed or found online. It contains comprehensive questions about their weight history. In addition, they will be asked to come to the first appointment with at least a week long “food diary”, where everything consumed is written down.
The first appointment will take a lot of time, and the patient can expect to go over all of the information in the questionnaire with Dr. Wood and the staff.
Eventually, in addition to seeing Dr. Wood, a board certified obesity medicine specialist, the patient will meet with the dietician and exercise therapist. Some patients will also meet with behavioral support, depending on their needs. At first patients will typically be seen every 2-4 weeks. Patients need not to be in the Sparta Community Hospital System to have referral to our medically supervised weight loss program.
Medical Diagnosis Associated with Obesity
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends any patient with a BMI over 30 be referred for weight loss management.
Obesity, with its associated conditions, is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Even 5-10% weight loss can improve co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, lower extremity edema, osteoarthrosis, and may other medical conditions.
These conditions are the primary target of the program outcomes. However, as a side benefit, patients who experience weight loss also feel better about themselves and overall. They also have improvements in overall mood and well-being as we are not just focused on “dieting” but overall health.
Obesity Medicine
Obesity Medicine is the field of medicine dedicated to the comprehensive care of patients with obesity. This approach is compromised of the following pillars of obesity management.
- Nutrition
- Physical Activity
- Behavior
- Medication
Meet Our Provider
Kelly Wood, MD, MSPH
American Board of Family Medicine
American Board of Obesity Medicine
There are two tracks of study for Obesity Medicine Certification. Dr. Wood chose the Certified Medical Education credit hour track for her certification. In this pathway, she had to be in good standing with her Family Medicine Board Certification, then complete 60 credit hours of obesity medicine related medical education. The bulk of these credit hours were earned through the Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine, a program administered by Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wood completed and passed her exam in late February 2021 and received her certification.