The fight against fat has spanned nearly five decades for one pioneering Auburn doctor.
Dr. Ross Fox’s crusade against carbohydrates remains just as pronounced today. Obesity is a chronic disease, a beast, a growing health crisis in the country.
“The statistics are astounding,” said Fox, a weight loss physician for more than 48 years and the first surgeon, after its inventor, to use the stomach-reducing LAP-BAND System on patients. “And the problem is a significant percentage of overweight people are shortening their lives.”
Fox continues to do his part. Fit and focused on his work at 82 years old, the good doctor estimates he has successfully treated more than 6,500 patients in his lifetime – first as a bariatric surgeon and now as a personal manager of modern medicine to safely beat obesity. Fox’s daily schedule remains busy today. He sees about 18-20 patients at the downtown office clinic he established in 1962.
For Fox, his passion is his work. Helping patients shed the pounds, thwart carbohydrate addiction, restore self-confidence and boost a healthy image is a genuine “kick” to the shy but gregarious man.
“I would be bored out of my head if I didn’t have something to do. And I enjoy this so much,” Fox said. “If the feds find out how much I enjoy it, they will charge me an entertainment tax.”
Fox’s pleasure is helping others get lean to gleam.
But today’s fight against fat is greater and more difficult for Fox and those in his profession. Obesity rates in the United States are the highest in the world. According to medical studies, about three-quarters of Americans are overweight or obese.
Helping others
The biggest challenge is helping people understand how to lose weight. Then attack it.
“It’s a combination of everything,” Fox said. “It’s genetics, it’s habit, it’s living in a society where there’s such an abundance of food, and the offending food of carbohydrates. We’re all carbohydrate-aholics. So it’s very easy for people to get hooked on carbs.”
In a fast-paced drive-thru society, that means cholesterol-choked cheeseburgers and other fatty fast-food choices. It means unhealthy food purchases in grocery stores.
To fight fat, Fox came up with his Foxkins Diamond Weight Management Program, a takeoff from the Atkins low-carb diet. It essentially helps patients lose weight through surgery, nutrition counseling, diet, prescription medications and behavior modification.
“It is the closest thing there is to a silver bullet for the treatment of obesity,” Fox added.
But patients have to work at it, Fox emphasized. Research has yielded few major breakthroughs in the treatment of obesity, meaning it still comes down to reducing caloric intake.
“It takes hard work,” he said. “It isn’t a frebbie.”
Fox continues to practice what he preaches.
Away from his office, Fox finds time to run his occasional four miles. Fox has completed 21 marathons, including three trips to prestigious Boston, and 58 triathlons/duathlons.
He also likes to ski, fish for big salmon in Alaska and hunt. He accompanies his wife, Cathy, a retired registered nurse, on shopping trips to sundry antique shops.
The Foxes have four grown sons.
With degrees from the University of Utah, Fox is the recipient of the St. George Medal, a national award for outstanding volunteerism, from the American Cancer Society.
Fox has a number of dramatic success stories, including 400-pound patients who dramatically lost more than half their weight to reach their goal.
But many of his patients are those looking to lose 50-60 pounds. Helping patients reach target weights and realize their dreams makes it all worthwhile for the doctor.
“It’s fun to help them get there because life changes so much for them,” Fox said. “Their quality of life improves tremendously by getting their weight down to normal or near normal ranges. And so I get a kick out of that.”
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Diamond plan
The Foxkins Diamond Weight Management Program combines four powerful elements to treat obesity, represented by the four bases of a baseball diamond.
• Home plate – acceptance: Accepting that obesity is an incurable but treatable disease
• First base – medication: A time-tested, low-risk prescription drug, Phentermine, to curb carb cravings
• Second Base – healthful eating: A pure protein, low-carb diet to burn fat
• Third Base – exercise: 30 minutes of daily cardiovascular exercise
For more information, call 253-833-7300 or visit www.foxkins.com.
