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COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio State undergraduate student and patient of the OSU Medical Center Comprehensive Weight Management Program in Grove City lost 100 pounds in a year – and has maintained the weight loss for another year – without having gastric bypass surgery or obeying strict diets.

After participating in the 26-week session in a group setting to start losing the weight, Melissa Murdock has stayed with the program to keep the weight off. Murdock, a native of Grove City and a junior in anthropology at OSU, attended the weight management program regularly throughout 2004 to maintain the 100 pounds she lost from September 2002 to September 2003.

“She knows what she needs to do and works hard at keeping up on her exercises,” said Dr. Shirley Kindrick, team leader for comprehensive weight management at OSU Medical Center. “She can share her story and encourage the rest of the group.”

After losing the weight and working to keep the weight down, Murdock was able to sit on bus seats more easily and could go to any store to buy clothes instead of being able to shop only at specialty stores or online.

“It has been a completely different life for me. I have noticed the little things,” she said. “I was very happy, and I knew I made an accomplishment.”

She started taking action to lose weight at age 19 because she and her parents were concerned she could develop Type 2 diabetes, a disorder common in her family.

Before starting the OSU Medical Center weight management classes, candidates are screened for health factors, including blood pressure and blood sugar, and for fitness level, which is tested through a walk around a track and other simple tests. Program facilitators try to identify any problems that could function as barriers to participation to gauge how best to assist participants during the weight-loss process.

“This let me see how far it (weight problem) got out of control,” Murdock said.

The weight management program did not include surgery or a specific diet, but Murdock monitored her calorie intake by using the American Diabetic Guidelines. She said she ate more fruits and vegetables, but was never restricted from eating a certain food.

Each week she attended group sessions that focused on a specific topic such as cooking, exercising, label reading, nutrition, and behavior and stress management. Staff facilitators included dietitians, exercise specialists and behaviorists. “They are the most incredible staff I ever met in my life,” Murdock said. “They’re really caring and want you to succeed.”

Group sessions included weekly goal-setting and measures of goal achievement. Murdock said her easiest goal to set was exercising, while controlling eating was the most difficult.

“Having a group setting challenges patients to make the changes,” Kindrick said. “When people struggle, there’s a lot of motivation and education that goes on in the groups.”

Murdock is one of the more than 200 patients who participate each year in the OSU Medical Center Comprehensive Weight Management Program. For more information about the program, call 614-293-2800.

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