The paper is intended to describe and evaluate a weight loss program offered by an institution to the people of the United States. It discusses the physiological components the advertiser adds in the advertisement while offering a weight loss program. The population of the United States faces a main yet a common issue of having few pounds to many extra pounds. In this regard, many companies and the institution offer programs that include diet chart, activities schedule and a targeted period to lose the weight.
1. The Medical University of South Carolina Health has a Wealth Management Center (Medical University of South Carolina, 2015). The website advertises the number of weight loss programs for the people of America.
2. The proposed claim on their website is that the institute is helping people in managing their weight for more than forty years. They also claim that the center is comprised of a team of experts and professional including psychologists, physicians, dietitians and physiologists. The Center is an academic medical center where patients have the facility of attaining most recent and safe health management plans with advanced researched medicines.
3. Their offerings include multiple ranges of programs to serve the people as per their need. Focus-15 Program is one of the fitness offerings that claim as 15-week lifestyle change program. The program is divided into three parts. The first part is designed to stimulate a weight loss program on a large scale than other traditional programs for changing lifestyle.
The content provided on the website is described that the initial part of the program is based on an involvement of highly structured dietary plan that mainly consist of the replacement of meal and suggest for shakes and nutrition bars. This program also adds up a plan of healthy activities like programs of exercise and active leisure. After one step of diet plan, another food plan would be introduced to the patients that lead towards more moderate and sustainable programs for weight loss.
In this program, an individual is advised to attend one to one appointment on weekly basis with the clinical specialists involved in the weight loss program such as dietary, exercise and behavioral as the long periods between meals would be likely to reduce blood sugar levels. The emphasis on changing lifestyles has a meaning to make people learn healthy changes in behavior as well that a person carries with itself for the long term to sustain healthy lifestyle after completion of the weight loss program. Thus, the Institute is enabling a person to uphold a healthier weight for the rest of his or her life.
There are continuations of the program focus- 15 with the names of Focus 23 and Focus 27 that are based on 23 and 27weeks programs for those who to lose a little more.
The program of focus 15 consists of three phases with one to eight weeks, nine to ten weeks and eleven t to fifteen weeks respectively (Lee, 2009).
4. On the website, phases of focus 15 program is described by providing number of calories in a day and sources to get those calories, the description of giving number of calories in the form of bars and shakes might not be enough for a person to understand as the number of glasses of shake or the quantity is not given. Also, highly structured food based meal in a day is written but no further details. This strategy could raise a question in an individual’s mind that what can be included in the highly structured meal.
Furthermore, phase 2 is a step down of phase one where a person has to replace its mean partially with two highly structured meals per day. Lastly, Phase 3 is the phase where a person will meet a dietitian who will help to develop a nutritionally balanced diet that will be designed to fulfill the requirements of individual’s nutrition plan in the long run. It is also mentioned that any patient has an open option to prolong his any phase of the program but under after the approval of the staff responsible for clinical issues.
5. The instructions on the website regarding diet are not fully defined; diet plan recommendation by dietitian must be included in the first two phases of the program as well (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2004). The section for exercise on the website has suggestions and teachings for various exercises. However, the section is expressed in a very general way with no specific information regarding different elements of the sessions.
The description is separated including the examples of actions need to be taken are written under the multiple sessions. Session of regular exercise, leisure activities for burning calories and daily lifetime calorie burning activities are mentioned. At many places, the aim of the Institute and mission of Focus 15 is stated that the program is actually designed to help a person in becoming a more active person and it will also help a person to adopt and develop a healthy lifestyle that can direct towards long-term continuation of weight loss (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2015).
The description does not contain lab test requirement that should be conducted in between of a weight loss program in case of a patient feel sickness or get weaken as the weight loss strive a person with hunger. Another flaw in the explanation is that only weight loss is expressed, and no other benefits or outcomes are mentioned in it. It is not defined that which part of the body will be trimmed and how it burns fats.
However, weight loss is a program for losing overall weight but there are some patients who want to categorize the program and demand for certain parts such as reducing belly or reducing thighs more comparatively whole (Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight, 2015). Such information should, therefore, be provided to improve the understanding of patients and their expectations from the program.
5. The proposal from MUSC Health Weight Management center for weight loss is apparently an interesting program that is offered by a medical center. In my point of view, after reviewing the proposal for weight loss, I would prefer to go and join the program to try and also recommend it to my fellows. The reason that motivates me to try it or recommend others is because the institute has a belongingness of medical center. The department of research and development will be active, and they tend to product and research on new medical techniques, which is giving me a light of clinically, fit Institute for weight loss.
Proper discussion with the dietitian and exercise with physiologists advises would be a good source of satisfaction. There are few flaws discussed above can be handled and can be discussed at the time of joining the weight loss program. The most important thing, which motivates me to try the program, is the in-person appointments with regular rotation with the clinical specialists where you can discuss your current health issues and also get a plan to sustain weight loss mission in long run.
References
Lee, S. (2009, July 21). Physiological components of fitness as determinants of sprinting performance: muscular strength, anaerobic power, and aerobic capacity. Retrieved from http://prizedwriting.ucdavis.edu/past/2004-2005/physiological-components-of-fitness-as-determinants-of-sprinting-performance-muscular-strength-anaerobic-power-and-aerobic-capacity
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2004, January 4). Weight-loss basics. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/basics/weightloss-basics/hlv-20049483
Medical University of South Carolina. (2015, January 1). MUSC Health Weight Management Center. Retrieved from http://www.muschealth.org/weight/index.html
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2015, January 1). Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight-loss Program. Retrieved from http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/weight-control/choosing-safe-successful-weight-loss-program/Pages/choosing-safe-successful-weight-loss-program.aspx
Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight. (2015, May 15). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/
