Good morning again from Orlando....the lecture went very well yesterday...audience seemed to be connected and interested..from the podium I didn't see one person snoring.
After the talk, I spoke with a number of doctors attending the antiaging convention and I was particularly interested in a discussion I had with 2 nurse practitioners who own annd operate a wellness center in Louisiana. These very nice NPs told me that the state medical board very carefully scrutinizes any practice doing "weight loss" and in that state, NPs do not have the authority to write prescriptions for weight loss medications. Even in programs that do not use prescription anorectics, the state audits and monitors very carefully anyone advertising "weight loss" services. The situation is such that very few practitoners in that state want to get involved in a formal weight loss program because of fear of the state regulators sanctioning them.
When you read studies that show the most "unhealthy" states with the highest obesity rates, Louisiana is near the top. What would possibly be the motivation of the state government to frown upon medical professionals trying to actively intervene with the obesity epidemic? Something seems amiss here. The point however is that one of the reasons why America as a whole is losing the war on obesity is because of ineffective government involvement, and in the apparent case in Louisiana, even throwing roadblocks up. With the current Preisdent's emphasis on access to medical care for everyone, perhaps local, state and federal health agencies can start focusing on one of the major issues that will lead, if unchecked, to higher percentages of heart disease, diabetes, cancers etc ...and that issue is obesity.
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