By now, we’ve all seen the numbers: According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one-third of American adults are obese. Annual medical cost of obesity is approaching $150 billion. And medical costs are almost $1,500 higher annually for people who are obese.

This edition of Inside Tract offers just a few examples of the ways the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Johns Hopkins is taking on the pernicious problem of obesity.

Kimberly Gudzune’s research has garnered much national media attention recently, and her work in our Digestive Weight Loss Center takes on the complexities of—and the underlying reasons for—obesity in patients.

Linda Lee’s common-sense philosophy of nutrition and weight loss is time-tested and effective. As director of the Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center, she believes in evidence-based practices that enhance conventional care.

Johns Hopkins is among the pioneers of endoscopic weight loss techniques, and Mouen Khashab and Vivek Kumbhari are at the heart of that work. Using the stitching mechanism on the endoscope, he has restored the effects of bariatric surgery for patients who have lost the surgery’s benefits. For patients who have not had gastric bypass surgery, his stitching technique mirrors the common gastric sleeve procedure.

We are happy to welcome Vivek Kumbhari to Johns Hopkins. Even before the FDA approved endoscopic gastric balloons for weight loss in the United States, Kumbhari performed the procedure numerous times in his native Australia, where the balloon was approved several years ago.

As always, we welcome your thoughts, and we invite you to call on us if we can contribute to your practice.