Obesity

Obesity means having too much body fat. It is not the same as being overweight, which means weighing too much. A person may be overweight from extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much fat.

Programs + Services


Clinical Nutrition

The Division of Clinical Nutrition at Tufts Medical Center provides inpatient and outpatient nutritional services.
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Weight and Wellness Center

The Weight and Wellness Center at Tufts Medical Center offers a top weight loss program that includes surgical and medical weight loss options to patients.
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Diabetes Center

The Diabetes Center in downtown Boston provides a full range of services for the diagnosis and management of diabetes and its complications with an emphasis on prevention.
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Medical Weight Loss

Tufts Medical Center’s medical weight loss program includes nutritional and lifestyle advice in order to help you with your long-term weight loss goals.
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Bariatric surgery

Our minimally invasive surgical options for weight loss surgery include gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric band surgery. Learn more and book an appointment today.
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Doctors + Care Team

Anastassios G. Pittas, MD, MS

Anastassios G. Pittas, MD, MS

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Accepting New Patients

Virtual Appointments Available

Online Scheduling Available

Title(s): Division Chief and Fellowship Program Director; Co-Director, Diabetes and Lipid Center; Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5689
Fax #: 617-636-4719

• Efficient, patient-centered care delivery that balances in-person with virtual care and digital connectivity
• Prevention of diabetes
• Diabetes management and prevention of diabetes-related complications
• Diagnosis and management of hypoglycemia
• Vitamin D deficiency

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Edward Saltzman, MD

Edward Saltzman, MD

Title(s): Chief, Division of Clinical Nutrition; Director, Adult Nutrition Support Services; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Dean for Education, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University
Department(s): Medicine, Clinical Nutrition
Appt. Phone:
Fax #:

Enteral and parenteral nutrition

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Sajani N. Shah, MD

Sajani N. Shah, MD

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Accepting New Patients

Virtual Appointments Available

Title(s): Surgeon; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Surgery, Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery, General Surgery
Appt. Phone: 617-636-6093
Fax #: 617-636-9095

General surgery, laparoscopic surgery, obesity surgery, trauma surgery

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Michael L. Dansinger, MD, MS

Michael L. Dansinger, MD, MS

Accepting New Patients

Virtual Appointments Available

Title(s): Internist; Staff Member, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Director, Lifestyle Coaching for Diabetes Weight Loss; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5689
Fax #: 617-636-8107

Lifestyle management of diabetes, heart disease risk factors, obesity, internal medicine

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picture of Andrew S. Greenberg, MD

Andrew S. Greenberg, MD

Title(s): Endocrinologist; Dr. Robert and Veronica Atkins Professor in Metabolism and Nutrition, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Appt. Phone:
Fax #:

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Joel B. Mason, MD

Joel B. Mason, MD

Accepting New Patients

Virtual Appointments Available

Title(s): Gastroenterologist; Professor, Tufts University Schools of Medicine and Friedman School of Nutritional Science and Policy; Senior Scientist and Director, Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
Department(s): Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Gastroenterology
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5883
Fax #: 617-636-1480

Malabsorption and unintentional weight loss, Inflammatory bowel disease, nutritional aspects of gastrointestinal disease, home nutritional therapy, enteral and parenteral nutrition

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Uyoyo T. Omaduvie, MD

Uyoyo T. Omaduvie, MD

Accepting New Patients

LGBTQ+ Health

Title(s): Primary Care Internist
Department(s): Primary Care, General Internal Medicine
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5400
Fax #: 617-636-1384

Diabetes, hypertension, menopause, women's health, heart failure, weight management, obesity, substance use

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Laura K. Snydman, MD

Laura K. Snydman, MD

LGBTQ+ Health

Virtual Appointments Available

Online Scheduling Available

Title(s): Director of Medical Student Clerkships; Primary Care Physician; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
Department(s): Medicine, Internal Medicine and Adult Primary Care
Appt. Phone: 617-636-5400
Fax #: 617-636-9712

Internal medicine, adult primary care, medical education, medical weight management

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Research + Clinical Trials


Identifying circulating biomarkers of microvascular endothelial function and relation to novel and established biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in females and males with abdominal obesity

We're doing a study to see how belly fat affects blood vessels in men and women. We want to find out if there are any differences and how this affects heart health. This will help us come up with better ways to prevent and treat heart disease.
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A Prospective, Open-Label, Multi-Center, Randomized, Pivotal Safety and Efficacy Study of the Allurion Gastric Balloon System + Moderate Intensity Lifestyle Modification Therapy Program vs. Moderate Intensity Lifestyle Modification Therapy Program for the Treatment of Adults with Obesity 

Obesity is a chronic, debilitating, multi-factorial disease that has reached worldwide pandemic proportions. The prevalence of obesity has tripled since the 1980s in many countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) European region. The WHO estimates that by 2015, 2.3 billion people will be overweight and over 700 million will be obese. Furthermore, the movement of people into the obese category (Body Mass Index (BMI) > 30) continues to increase by 1% of the population per year2, and the prevalence of the Class III obesity has almost doubled over the last twenty years with an estimated prevalence of 4.7% in 1999-2000 and 9.2% in 2017-2018%.Significant evidence indicates that successful treatment of obesity results in a reduced incidence of co-morbid diseases. Specifically, a 5-10% total weight loss can significantly reduce or prevent coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases in obese individuals. A combination of calorie restricted diet, regular physical activity, and behavioral modification with or without pharmacotherapy has been utilized to treat obesity; however, a significant weight loss of 10 to 15% is rarely achieved or sustained9. For morbid obesity, bariatric surgery is the only treatment option with sustainable weight loss. However, some patients with moderately increased BMI do not qualify for bariatric surgery or prefer less invasive treatment modalities. In these patients, an intragastric balloon (IGB) can help them adhere to lifestyle modification, preventing the need for bariatric surgery. IGB treatment, in addition to lifestyle modification, has been shown to be an effective short-term modality for weight loss. 
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Lifestyle Intervention in Preparation for Pregnancy (LIPP)

The aim of this study is to improve the metabolic health of overweight and obese women prior to a planned pregnancy. 
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