The History

Physicians Lifestyle Solutions: The History,
Doctor, and Concept Behind Wise-About-Weight

Hello, I am Dr. Donald Kushner and, as an internist and primary care physician for many years, I believe that the goal of every primary care physician is to facilitate prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses and enhance quality of life of their patients.

I have helped people to deal with such issues as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and high cholesterol, among many other conditions. Many of these conditions can be treated with medication but are best approached by adding appropriate lifestyle changes. A health issue of great concern that often aggravates these conditions is being overweight – the single most common situation I see in practice.

Many patients ask for my advice on how to make lifestyle changes and lose weight. Unfortunately, medical training does not provide sufficient information to deal with this complicated task, nor does the daily practice of medicine provide adequate time to fully address it. As a consequence, I find patients look to many sources, some credible, some not, to help make lifestyle changes and lose weight. This self-directed approach tends to leave patients and their physicians frustrated and disappointed at their shared inability to achieve desired results.

I developed the Wise-About-Weight program to find a lifestyle change and weight loss approach consistent with the health goals of patients and their physicians.

• Improving Health – The first issue patients and their doctors agree on is the desire to improve health. This is a lifelong goal – not just for the next few months but rather for many years to come.
• Making Long-Term Changes – Patients need to make long-term changes, but making these changes is often not easy – especially not easy to accomplish on their own. These changes carry great rewards but they do require comprehensive learning and practice and do not allow for shortcuts.
• Working with Each Patient as an Individual – Additionally, because every patient is unique, the approach to lifestyle change will be different for each person, particularly considering each individual’s medical and behavioral needs.
• Supporting Current and Future Needs – Lastly, it is clear that in maintaining these changes patients will face many challenges over the years. Just as I promise my patients that I will provide care for them for the entirety of their lives, I worked to develop a program that makes the same promise and adjusts to the future needs of every patient.

My hope for the Wise-About-Weight program is that it will enhance the doctor-patient relationship. I believe patients look to their physicians for guidance when making lifestyle changes and physicians embrace this approach but lack the time and knowledge to provide adequate direction. Wise-About-Weight provides the time and knowledge about healthy lifestyle changes that patients are currently missing, and provides direction for patients, under the purview of their physicians, to help patients accomplish their mutual goals of health and wellness.

Donald Kushner, MD