America is in a health care crisis. More than 60 percent of US adults are overweight and 25% are considered obese. One in four children are overweight and are headed for a lifetime of chronic illness. These numbers have nearly doubled in the last twenty years.

Excess body weight has been linked to many common conditions affecting Americans. These include: heart disease, high blood pressure, back pain, certain cancers, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, gall bladder disorders, sleep apnea, Syndrome X (insulin resistance), and others. Health care costs directly related to obesity are second only to smoking and are increasing at an alarming rate.

Consistent weight loss can be accomplished by understanding and implementing some simple truths. Total caloric intake must be less than the amount of calories a person burns. This is known as the base metabolic rate (BMR). Low calorie high glycemic (carbohydrate) diets cause an increase in insulin which will virtually lock up fat making it impossible to burn. High insulin levels will lead muscle wasting when eating less than the BMR.

Moderate resistance training exercise is also required to insure lean muscle is retained. Maintaining muscle mass while burning fat improves body composition (increases lean muscle and decreases fat) and maintains or increases the BMR. Long term weight loss and/or maintenance is very difficult if a person has an uncontrolled appetite and/or problem with emotional eating.

These concepts are simple to understand but often difficult or impossible for the overweight person to implement. Another little known fact further explains why so many people are overweight. Ninety percent of overweight people are deficient in serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and/or epinephrine. These are important brain and nervous system chemical messengers called neurotransmitters (NTs) that affect every system in the body including the appetite and satiety centers in the brain. Most people have heard of serotonin because those suffering from depression and/or anxiety disorders are commonly prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) class drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Welbutrin, etc.

Although these drugs sometimes provide temporary symptomatic relief, they DO NOT add a single molecule of serotonin to the system. In fact, SSRI drugs cause an increased rate of excretion of serotonin which further depletes a NT deficient person. The solution is to evaluate NT levels with a simple urine test and then optimize the NT by providing amino acid therapy. The amino acids provide the building blocks to rebuild the neurotransmitters. Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine are appetite suppressors.

In addition to their emotional/psychological functions, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine are also natural appetite supressors. When a person has therapeutic levels of these NTs in their system, they go into a state of safe appetite control. This allows them to follow their reduced-calorie diet while eliminating emotional eating and carbohydrate and chocolate cravings.

Another benefit of this elegant approach is that not only are there no side effects, but there are significant side benefits. Optimizing NT levels can help with many other symptoms of low neurotransmitters such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, pms, fibromyalgia, migraines, hormonal dysfunction, adrenal fatigue, digestive disorders, and many others.

The clinical results using this approach are very promising. In a Minnesota clinic with a patient base of 690 patients, the results are as follows. Average starting weight: 211 pounds. Average total weight loss: 62.6 pounds. Average loss during first month: 16.9 pounds. Average loss during active loss program: 8.4 pounds/ month. Average goal weight: 149 pounds. Percentage of active patients reaching their goal: 90 percent.

William Nelson, NMD is a naturopathic medical doctor that specializes in the treatment of thyroid disease and most chronic illnesses using a combination of natural medicine and the latest advances in medical science. http://www.theelementsofhealth.com 7500 E. Pinnacle Peak Rd. A207, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 (480) 563-4256.