Weight Management

Maintaining a healthy weight plays an important role in keeping your body healthy. Many children and adults in the U.S. have overweight or obesity. Obesity can be related to many other health conditions you might have, including:  

• Diabetes.
• Fatty liver disease.
• Heart disease and stroke.
• High blood pressure (hypertension).
• Osteoarthritis.
• Sleep apnea.

To get started, you can reach out to us directly or ask your healthcare provider for a referral. Any provider can refer you for a virtual or in-person visit.

Many Cleveland Clinic experts can help with weight management. And we’re here to focus on you and your needs. We start the conversation by talking with you about your weight challenges and your health. Next, we’ll do a full physical examination. We may recommend tests for specific conditions, including:

• Blood glucose tests to screen for diabetes.
• Blood tests to check your cholesterol numbers, and look at how your kidney and liver are working.
• Sleep apnea, if needed.
• Thyroid blood tests to check how your thyroid gland is working.

During our early conversations, we might talk about body mass index (BMI). This is a tool where you input your weight and height and it provides you with a number. What’s the number mean? BMI uses number ranges to look at weight. For example, if you have a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9, you’re considered in the healthy range. There are also ranges for overweight and obesity.

Interested in learning what your BMI is? Use a BMI calculator to get an estimate.

Although we use BMI as a starting point for our discussions around weight, we know it isn’t perfect. It’s possible that you’re at a weight that’s healthy for you even if the BMI says otherwise. And the opposite can also be true. You may have a BMI that’s considered healthy for many people, but due to factors like your race or other health conditions, your provider may recommend weight loss.

After learning more about your goals and running our tests, our weight management specialists recommend personalized treatment options. Each person is unique, and we’ll provide a specific treatment that fits your goals. We’ll go over these options with you and answer any questions you may have.

Weight Management Treatment at Cleveland Clinic

Getting to — and staying at — a healthy weight requires different tools. Our specialists work with you to help you figure out which tools will work best for you and your life. Our comprehensive care includes:

Medical weight management (BMI of less than 30)

We use a range of nonsurgical therapies to help you learn how to lose weight and keep it off, including:

• Eating strategies: Our dietitians (food experts) develop a specific meal plan for weight loss or weight loss maintenance. We help you learn what to eat, how to eat and when to eat.
• Exercise programs: Exercise physiologists create individualized exercise programs to build your strength and endurance. These programs improve your fitness and metabolism.
• Behavior management: Our psychologists create behavior strategies to help support your weight management efforts. They look at possible blockers that could prevent you from reaching your goals and help you find ways to manage them. Stress, for example, is one thing our specialists can help you manage.
• Medications: We may prescribe medications to help with weight management and keep you healthy. These medications may include appetite suppressants or nutritional supplements.

Endoscopic weight loss procedures (BMI that’s greater than or equal to 30)

During an endoscopic procedure, we use a flexible lighted tube with a camera (endoscope) to reach your digestive (gastrointestinal) tract through your mouth. Using this nonsurgical method, we can:

• Do an endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG). This non-surgical endoscopic weight loss procedure involves inserting an endoscope with a suturing device into the mouth and moving it down to the stomach. Sutures (stitches) are placed in the stomach to decrease volume and make it smaller.
• Place an intragastric balloon in your stomach to help you feel full and reduce the amount of food you can take in.

Bariatric surgery (BMI that’s 35 or greater)

Our specialists may recommend bariatric surgery if you are more than 100 pounds over your goal weight. If you experience weight gain after having another weight loss procedure, we can do something called revision surgery to help you continue with your weight management journey.  

Our surgeons use minimally invasive techniques (surgery using small incisions for faster healing) to do:

• Gastric sleeve surgery: Surgeons remove 75% of your stomach to help you feel full. We don’t remove or bypass any intestines during this surgery.
• Laparoscopic bypass surgery (Roux-en-y gastric bypass): Surgeons make a small pouch in your stomach and connect the pouch to the lower part of your small intestine. Food “bypasses” or skips the remainder of your stomach and intestine. This bypass cuts down the amount of food you can take in and the amount of food your body can absorb.

Weight Management Patient Navigators at Cleveland Clinic

Support is such an important part of your weight management journey. Find the support you need. Your patient navigator is your personal guide to treatment options and weight management healthcare providers throughout Cleveland Clinic.

Your navigator also serves as your e-coach and mentor. Whatever you need, we connect you with information and options to help you reach your goals.

Taking the Next Step

When it comes to weight management, there’s often no simple answer or quick fix. It takes a team of experts, a personally crafted plan and an eye turned towards the future. Maintaining a healthy weight for you is a complex process — it isn’t just a result of lifestyle choices or willpower. Trying to lose weight and keep it off on your own can be challenging and frustrating. Working together, we can help you with your weight management goals.