Local cardiologist Dr. James Marcum wants Chattanoogans to shift their thinking when it comes to weight loss.
Using what he calls the HeartWise Biblical Approach to Weight Management, Dr. Marcum and a team of doctors, nutritionists and exercise physiologists will track how a spiritual emphasis affects weight management.
“What really differs in this is we’re going to try to plug people into an active prayer life,” Dr. Marcum said, “and pray for each other and encourage each other as Christians to make these changes and get the power of the Holy Spirit in our life to stick with it long term.”
The free, yearlong endeavor begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Brainerd Baptist Church BX Building. During the kickoff event, Dr. Marcum will explain his approach and distribute questionnaires to divide people into three groups based on their weight-loss goals.
IF YOU GO* What: HeartWise Biblical Approach to Weight Management program kickoff* When: Thursday at 7 p.m.* Where: Brainerd Baptist Church BX Building.* Who: Dr. James Marcum will introduce the program and explain his spiritual approach to weight management. Attendees will fill out questionnaires and be placed into three groups based on weight loss goals.
David Hamilton, a 42-year-old Chattanooga resident who has struggled with overeating for years, not only is helping to organize the program, he plans to participate.
“We hope this might be the first step on a path to a program that really will be a successful addressing of the problem,” he said.
Dr. Marcum will monitor data such as weight, resting heart rate and resting blood pressure to see how successful his teachings are. He said he will publish the data after a year and, if the program is successful, he plans to reproduce it on a national scale.
“If they’re losing weight and their heart rate is coming down, their blood pressure is coming down, that’s the data that’s easy to get and it’s cheap,” he said. “And if that’s happening, I automatically know that the parameters of weight loss — their blood sugar, their inflammation, their cholesterol — all that will be improving, too.”
The approach is part of Dr. Marcum’s Christian-based charity, HeartWise Ministries, which produces TV, radio and Internet programs that address the physical and spiritual sides of health.
Choosing more nutritious foods and getting regular exercise also are teachings from the Bible that will be key to the program, Dr. Marcum said.
The program is open to people of all sizes and ages and is not solely for those who need to lose weight, Dr. Marcum said.