Dear Doctor:

Obesity…Insulin Resistance…Diabetes…Coronary Artery Disease. By the time diabetes is diagnosed, many affected patients have already had a cardiovascular event.

But few physicians are able to take the significant time required to discuss diet, exercise and obesity. Why? Remarkably, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do not define obesity as a disease, and therefore Medicare does not pay for its treatment unless the patient develops complications of obesity such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension.

What troubles many physicians about dietary counseling is how to find the clinical time to do it. But do it they must according to new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.(Am. J. Prev. Med. 24(1):84-101, 2003).

I have been practicing science-based clinical nutrition for over 20 years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I was one of the first nutritionists to be licensed in New York State.

I have made weight loss, glycemic control, and dietary lipid management an achievable goal for thousands of New Yorkers.

Please give us a chance to demonstrate our ability with your obese, hyperlipidemic, and/or diabetic patients. Make a referral and listen to your patient's feedback. I promise you that your patients will be impressed by the quality of our approach and excited by the results that they achieve.

If you have any questions or if you feel that I could be of help to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Richard Kowal, M.S., D.C.