Don't fight obesity alone

PROVO — Pamela Hansen was obese, and she knew it.

Fifteen years' worth of turning to food to weather the low points of her life were evidenced by an extra 100 pounds.

And for the Orem woman, life's little potholes were more like collapsed bridges: A twin daughter died from a heart ailment one day after her birth; two other children were diagnosed with debilitating autoimmune diseases; and a son was stillborn.

In April 2001, just a few weeks after the latter tragedy, Hansen began replacing food with exercise as a coping mechanism. In a little more than a year, the extra weight — all 100 pounds — was gone.

She didn't have surgery and didn't use pills.

"It was a lifestyle change," Hansen said. "That's what it takes."

Today she's helping others make that change and follow her proven path to victory over obesity.

Hansen has joined a team of medical professionals to create a weight-management program at the Central Utah Clinic, a medical center made up of 70 physicians offering care in 16 specialties.

The program is part of the center's Wellness Institute, which essentially is a gym with doctors. Patients use the pool, hot tub and exercise equipment as part of the rehabilitation process, all under the supervision of medical professionals.

The weight-management program takes the main components of healthy living — nutrition and exercise — and combines them with Hansen's real-life experience to provide the expertise and support she says are crucial in such a lifestyle change.

"I'm kind of the cheerleader of the group," said Hansen, who publicly shared her success story in "Running With Angels," a memoir published in 2005 by Shadow Mountain.

The other key players are exercise physiologist Rosemary Jackson and registered dietitian Rachel Higginson.

The combination of that expertise, support of the clinic's medical staff and state-of-the art facilities and equipment gives those seeking a life change a head start in that quest, said Alan Colledge, medical director of the Wellness Institute.

Hansen didn't have that advantage, and that's part of the reason the program exists today.

"When I was losing weight and I started walking and then running, I wondered, 'What if I have a heart attack? What if I fall dead and nobody finds me?' " she said.

The Central Utah Clinic's Wellness Institute eliminates that concern, Hansen said.

"This is a place where people can go and be on the treadmill, and if they need something right away, there'll be (a medical professional) there," she said. "It's a place where they can be instructed a little bit, and it's really a positive atmosphere."