George Bray, MD, a Harvard-trained physician, is one of the best known figures in obesity research today.  He was co-editor of the International Journal of Obesity from its introduction in 1976 until 1992. He was the founder of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) and edited the journal Obesity Research from 1993 to 1997. He was also the President of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. Dr. Bray has authored or edited over 500 books, book chapters and scientific papers. Here is an interview I did with Dr. Bray several years ago.

Paul Rivas, M.D. is an internist in the Baltimore area who is using the combination of phentermine and Effexor (venlafaxine) with good success. Larry Hobbs interviewed Dr. Rivas by phone.

Jerry Darm, M.D. is a physician in the Portland, Oregon area who has used the combination of phentermine and Wellbutrin for weight loss. Larry Hobbs spoke to Dr. Darm by phone.

Theodore B. VanItallie has been studying obesity for nearly 50 years. Larry Hobbs interviewed Dr. VanItallie by phone.

In his interview, William Wilson, M.D., discussed a condition he has named Hypothalamic Pituitary Dysfunction, or HPD for short. In this article he provides an outline for diagnosis, treatment and examples of patients he has treated.

“Presenting symptoms and excess body fat should be the determining factor for treating obesity, not body mass index,” says William L. Wilson, M.D. of Chisholm, Minn. “We have found that Body Mass Index (BMI) does not consistently correlate with percent body fat until BMI exceeds 35.2.

“No eating after 2 pm,” says Gary R. Albertson, D.O. of Monahans, Texas when asked about his No-Dinner diet. As far as diet drugs Albertson’s says “I only use three diet medications—phentermine, diethylpropion and phendimetrazine.”

Are carbohydrates easily converted to fat? “No,” according to researcher Jean-Pierre Flatt, Ph.D. “The body is very efficient at balancing the amount of carbohydrates that are burned with the amount that is eaten.”

Dr. Jay Piatek explains how he uses phentermine and 5-HTP plus exercise and some unique motivational techniques to help both adults and children achieve long-term weight loss.

Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades are the authors of the best-seller Protein Power. Larry Hobbs interviewed Michael Eades by phone.

The author of THIN TASTES BETTER discusses Food Control Training

Stephen Gullo, PhD, a health psychologist practicing in New York, is the author of the national best-seller THIN TASTES BETTER: Control Your Food Triggers And Lose Weight Without Feeling Deprived. Dr. Gullo has treated over 11,000 patients during his 28 year career.

Psychiatrist Dr. Dennis Padla 5-HTP may help patients who have plateaued, but may also increase the incidence of some side effects.

The author of a study on the combination of Phentermine and Prozac discusses his findings.

The combination of phentermine and Prozac may be as effective as Fen-Phen like Michael Anchors, M.D. suggests, or may be even more effective. This according to preliminary results from a retrospective study performed by Dennis Padla, M.D. and J. Spoke, P.A. of St. Joseph, Mich.

Dr. Michael Anchors notes that adding 5-HTP to Phentermine-Proac helps about half of plauteaed patients to lose more weight.

Michael Anchors, M.D., Ph.D. was the first to describe the use of phentermine combined with Prozac (fluoxetine) and other SSRIs in his best-seller Safer Than Phen-Fen (Prima Publishing, 1997). He is a clinical professor of medicine at Georgetown University and has a family practice in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A little over a year ago he started adding 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in some of his patients taking Phen-Prozac.

Larry Hobbs interviewed Dr. Anchors by email to find out what effect, if any, it has had.

Michael Anchors, M.D., Ph.D., the author of “Safer Than Phen-Fen” dicusses the use of combining phentermine with Prozac and other SSRIs to help patients lose weight.

An interview with Artemis Simopoulos, M.D., author of The Omega Diet.

Artemis P. Simopoulos, MD was a Senior Editor of author of the book OBESITY: New Directions in Assessment and Management and contributed a marvelous chapter titled EVOLUTIONARY ASPECTS OF DIET: Fatty Acids, Insulin Resistance and Obesity. She has been researching evolutionary aspects of diet since 1984. She is one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of essential fatty acids on health and disease. Her list of accomplishments are as impressive as I have ever seen.

Psychiatrist Dr. Dennis Padla 5-HTP may help patients who have plateaued but may also increase the incidence of some side effects.

Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D. is one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of essential fatty acids on health and disease and is the author of “The Omega Diet”.

Dr. Michael Anchors says that adding 5-HTP to Phentermine-Proac helps about half of plauteaed patients to lose more weight.

Michael Anchors, M.D., Ph.D. is the author of the book titled Safer Than Phen-Fen. He is a clinical professor of medicine at Georgetown University and operates a family practice in Maryland.

This is an update to the interview with Michael Anchors, M.D., Ph.D. about the use of Phen-Pro, the combination of phentermine and Prozac or certain other SSRIs.

Michael T. Murray, N.D., is the author of numerous books about nutritional supplements. His latest is 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Boost Serotonin and Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia. Larry Hobbs interviewed Dr. Murray by phone about the use of 5-HTP for weight loss.

This interview was first published in Obesity Research Update, June 1998, Volume 3 Number 6 Page 41.

“We wouldn’t be in business without 5-HTP,” says Richard B. Rothman, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of BE-LITE Medical Centers located in Virginia and Maryland.

“We’re getting seventy-eight percent greater weight loss than we got with Fen-Phen,” says Martin Hinz, M.D., from Morgan Park Clinic of Duluth, Minn. “This is since we made some additional changes to our program in January of this year.”