Albany weight loss clinic sees big results with old-fashioned methods: eat better food, less of it, and exercise

Dr. Carol Peddicord holds a model representing 5 lbs. of body fat. (Clinton County News photo)
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A doctor and pharmacist in rural Albany, Kentucky are seeing big results in the fight against obesity after opening a weight loss clinic. Since The Doctor’s Health and Weight Loss Clinic opened in January, its 433 patients have lost a collective 4,078.75 lbs., and most of them have kept it off, the Clinton County News reports.

Dr. Carol Peddicord and pharmacist Arica Collins of Dyer Drug Company came up with the idea for the clinic after seeing how many patients came in looking for a quick fix to lose weight. But the best way to do that is to live a healthier lifestyle, not through a pill or a crash diet, the News reports.

Emphasis on healthier. “We don’t want people to be skinner, we want them to be healthy and live longer,” Peddicord told the News. Obesity is a significantly bigger problem in rural areas than in suburban and urban areas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though the duo first conceived of the clinic because they were worried about children’s health, most of their patients are women between the ages of 35 and 58. There are a few high schoolers though, and they’re starting to see more men coming in. That’s good, Peddicord told the News, because men typically have heart disease earlier in life.

Albany, in Clinton County, Ky. (Wikipedia map)

The clinic, which takes insurance, offers individually tailored wellness plans for patients, depending on whether they have high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or heart disease. They offer diet plans and will soon have plans for meal replacements such as shakes, the News reports.

Though Peddicord was glad to note that the clinic’s patients had lost 680 lbs. last month, she told the News that pounds aren’t the only thing that matter. Patients have seen other “non-scale victories” such as being able to stop taking insulin for diabetes. “People are losing weight, feeling better and are able to exercise,” Peddicord told the News.