I was talking with a new patient of mine, a fifty-year-old woman who'd come to my chiropractic clinic for relief from hip pain, and as we were discussing her health history, she mentioned that she "used to have" high blood pressure, but now that she was on medication, it was "normal." She said that she was very happy that she no longer needed to worry about her high blood pressure. She was surprised when I explained to her that her medication merely "regulated" her condition, but that it did not eliminate problem. As this woman was obese, I explained to her that her weight, in addition to causing her hip pain, was also the culprit that continued to cause the high blood pressure for which she needed the medication. I told her that as a chiropractor, I could temporarily relieve her hip pain with chiropractic treatment, but that it would likely come back again unless she lost some of the excess poundage she carried around each day.

Obesity is a serious condition that causes innumerable health problems such as heart disease, risk of stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and a plethora of musculoskeletal problems that, more often than not, lead to osteoarthritis. The only prevention is weight loss. The only "cure" is weight loss. The only hope for a healthy outcome is weight loss. Pharmaceuticals may regulate the symptoms of conditions caused by obesity, and chiropractors can help to temporarily relieve the pain, but there is not a traditional or alternative therapy that can rectify obesity.

There's no getting around it, either. Losing weight is hard work and the more an individual needs to lose, the harder it can be. And, the indisputable fact is that no one can lose weight for you. But, the health "rewards" are worth it. Just ask anyone who's lost a significant amount of weight. Health-wise, it's a life-changer. And, studies have shown that many people with high blood pressure problems who lose their excess weight are often able get off their blood pressure medications altogether.