Dr. James Marcum's formal training involves the study of the heart.
He's an expert in cardiac bypasses, stents and electrocardiograms; but his most pressing interest is in a part of the heart that even surgeons with high-tech machines can't see or touch.
"As physicians we can do a lot for your heart," Dr. Marcum said. "But that doesn't address the most important component of your health: the love associated with God."
So Dr. Marcum, with the help of a network of donors, has founded a Christian-based charity producing a TV, radio and Internet ministry that deals with both the physical and the spiritual sides of health. He is a board-certified behavioral cardiologist who practices at the Chattanooga Heart Institute.
HeartWise Ministries airs its radio broadcasts on dozens of stations across the country, including Chattanooga's WBDX-FM/J103. The TV program appears locally on Retro Television 3.2 and Skyangel Television. Most of the issues he addresses deal with weight and the illnesses associated with obesity, he said.
"Before you can be healthy, you must love yourself," Dr. Marcum said. "And the purest form of love comes from God."
Dr. Marcum said he wants to expand his efforts. In the coming year, he hopes to gather a test group for a multi-year weight-loss, health-improvement effort. He wants to work one-on-one with a group of 100 to 200 people who have struggled with weight gain and obesity-related illnesses.
Dr. Marcum and HealthWise's chief executive, Joe Kochis, are searching for participants in their weight-loss study. They believe their approach may be one of the few weight-loss efforts of its kind in the nation.
"We want to provide them a cure for their ailments that they can do themselves," Mr. Kochis said. "We just need the public relations component so people know this is out there."
Dr. Marcum said his effort won't simply be about losing weight. Instead, he wants to focus on the causes of overeating.
"Surgeons can bypass around a problem in your heart," Dr. Marcum explains. "But that doesn't get to the core of the problem. Overeating is the symptom of a larger problem."
Most dieters fail because they take on too many changes or they are discouraged by weight-loss professionals who are too critical, he said. His effort would focus on small, incremental changes, he said.
"Christ met people where they are, and he introduced them to the concept of love," Dr. Marcum said. "That's what we want to do. We don't want leaps, we want small steps."
UPCOMING COVERAGE
Friday: More children are being diagnosed with sleep apnea, which doctors attribute to obesity. News.
Monday: The United Way's Kid Fitness program is a year old. News.
SHARE YOUR STORIES
Have you lost a lot of weight? Tell us how you did it. Share your success stories, frustrations, diet and exercise tips, before-and-after photos, recipes and questions and story ideas. E-mail us at news@timesfreepress.com and please put "shape" in the subject line.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about Dr. Marcum and HeartWise Ministries, visit www.heartwiseministries.org.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
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