About Dr. Michael Kaplan, CMWL Founder and Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Michael S. Kaplan, founder and Chief Medical Officer of The Center for Medical Weight Loss (CMWL), was a practicing internist in Long Island when he realized that many of his patients were living with health problems caused or worsened by the same thing: obesity. As he treated these patients, he recognized two things: Obesity is a disease and food can be an addiction.

Dr. Kaplan knew that, as with other diseases, it made sense to treat obesity under the supervision of a physician. He believed that physicians, because of their position of trust with their patients, their ability to offer one-on-one counseling, and their focus on overall health, were uniquely positioned to help patients lose weight. He also discovered that to break a food addiction doctors and patients not only had to work together to achieve weight loss, but that patients needed support and guidance to change their lifestyle habits and maintain weight loss over the long term.

Thus Dr. Kaplan discovered the key ingredients of successful weight loss: Providing his patients with a proper reduced-calorie diet in combination with active support and counseling under the supervision of trained medical professionals.

To help even more patients lose weight safely and effectively, Dr. Kaplan started practicing bariatric medicine – a branch of medicine specializing in the treatment of obesity – and opened The Long Island Weight Loss Institute in November 2001. There he developed a successful weight-management program that would become the basis for The Center for Medical Weight Loss, the first national network of physicians specializing in weight loss and maintenance.

Today there are more than 350 Center for Medical Weight Loss practices all over the country – and growing. Find a center near you.