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Memorial Medical Center debuts Life 360

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Wed, Nov 28th 2018 03:35 pm
New approach to medically managed weight loss combines personal attention with day-to-day virtual support
It's a question that has long vexed people striving to lose weight: What do you do if dieting hasn't worked and you aren't ready to consider bariatric surgery?
Beginning this week, the answer for area residents can be Life 360, a new medically managed weight loss program being introduced at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.
"Life 360 is a gateway to healthy, sustainable and lifelong change," said Dr. Donna Gasparro, one of two physicians who will oversee the innovative weight loss program. "We believe Life 360's one-to-one physician interaction combined with a robust suite of around-the-clock online support services will give patients the tools they need to effectively make lifestyle changes to achieve a better quality of life. Weight loss is the result of wellness, which is the foundation of the program."
Enrollees will be asked to make an initial six-month commitment that will include monthly comprehensive wellness meetings with a physician, and additional weigh-ins every two weeks. Working with Memorial's medical weight loss team, each patient will set a six-month weight loss goal.
"Our medical management weight loss program has some important advantages over one-size-fits-all diet or exercise regimens," Gasparro said. "Life 360 enrollees will undergo evaluations of their individual metabolic profiles, receive individual meal plans with customized macronutrient composition, and have access to FDA-approved prescription weight loss medication where warranted. Success is achieved through our unique approach that considers the whole person on their journey to health, well being and weight loss."
Program members will also benefit from having access to an online app called Virtual Health Partners. This app offers a new way of conquering health goals through 24/7, live online support, enabling people with busy schedules to enjoy on-demand access to fitness, nutrition and lifestyle modification videos, live classes, virtual support groups and expert advice from wellness specialists through private instant messaging.
"This extraordinary support is only accessible through a medically supervised program," said Dr. Gurteshwar Rana, who will join Gasparro in overseeing Life 360. "The goal is to teach our patients so they can do this on their own after they graduate from the program. If patients don't make their goal weight and decide they want to consider weight loss surgery, we will invite them to a bariatric surgery information session."
Memorial Medical Center President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo said the introduction of Life 360 fills an important community need.
"More than a third of U.S. residents, some 78 million people, are overweight or obese," he said. "We see patients every day for whom this causes serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and kidney disease."
"Life 360's complete medical workups, customized physician assessments and individualized weight loss plans will help patients form healthy new habits and make a big difference in helping people achieve their weight loss goals," he added.
Life 360 is available to people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher and is covered by health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and some insurance companies. To learn more, call 716-278-4492 or email [email protected].

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