Napa Valley Lifestyle & Wellness Launches in Napa

Since Napa doctor Abhijit Adeje began practicing medicine in 1996, the world has seen a variety of disease epidemics, but the most widespread and persistent is obesity.

This, and the personal toll that obesity took, led the doctor to focus on weight loss after moving to the United States from India in 2001 and settling here.

“I come from a family of doctors,” says Adieh, “My great-grandfather founded the family practice in Mumbai in 1921.”

Ahdieh's grandfather worked there and then his father took it over, and now Ahdieh's father is retired at 82 and has sold the family practice, which has been in business for 100 years.

Adie, 50, said he started out specializing in internal medicine in India and worked for Providence Medical Group in Napa, which opened its first U.S. clinic in 2003. The married father of two said he has taken his “specialty” exam in lifestyle and obesity medicine in the past five years.

“I wanted to do something different… I wanted to gain some life experience and focus on obesity and weight loss… because obesity is kind of an epidemic and I get to see a lot of primary care patients and obesity is a big underlying factor in a lot of diseases,” he said.

“I also had an obesity-related death in my family, so that was another motivation. I needed to do more to help people learn better eating habits, lifestyle changes and mindfulness.”

One of the features of Ahdieh's Napa practice, Napa Valley Lifestyle and Wellness, is that it is considered “concierge,” meaning he sees fewer patients per day and can spend more time with his concierge patients, “so they get more care than other doctors would,” he said.

“Anyone who wants to see me can get an appointment within a day. The structure allows for more personalized care.”

The practice's concierge service requires an additional annual membership fee, which allows patients wider access, though Ahdieh is quick to add that weight loss patients who don't use the concierge service are still provided with the best possible care.

The annual concierge fee is on a sliding scale and discounts are available, but the rate is “on the order of” $2,000 a year, which is average for the Napa area, said Ahdieh, who said he believes he is only the eighth or 10th person to open a concierge practice in the area in the past decade.

“The purpose of this program is to reach people who want and need (and can afford) more attention,” he said. But it's the obesity epidemic he's fighting hardest, he said.

“My focus at this new clinic, Napa Valley Lifestyle and Wellness, is weight loss and obesity,” he said, adding that his approach is different from others in several ways.

“We have a lot of different approaches to weight loss treatment here,” he says. “We measure and analyze body composition, and we work with coaches, psychologists and nutritionists. It's a team approach.”

Ahdieh said his clinic creates a supportive environment to ensure long-term success and move patients towards healthier lifestyles.

“We are focusing on more individualised primary care and taking a holistic approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Our plan is to promote wellbeing by offering patients individualised nutrition plans, coaching options and support from dieticians and psychologists,” he said.

Napa Valley Lifestyle & Wellness is affiliated with both the Whole Health Weight Loss Institute and Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, a center of excellence for obesity treatment, he said.

“We also offer meal replacement options and have partnered with Nestle's Optifast, where patients can get full or partial meal replacements through my clinic,” he said. “This is a medically approved high-protein program, specially selected for patients who require medical monitoring.”

Dr. Adieh describes his clinic as “a one-stop shop for medically supervised weight loss, including meal replacements, guidance, and support from psychologists and dieticians if needed,” adding, “We can also prescribe medications for weight loss and monitor safety and progress. These new weight loss medications are great and, if approved by insurance, are very safe.”

At least one colleague and client completely agrees: Napa primary care physician Herbert Bazelon said the world needs doctors who specialize in weight loss.

“I think this is a timely initiative today, with the obesity epidemic in this country,” he said, “In some parts of the country, over 30 percent are obese. This is an area of ​​need. Dr. Adieh is not only an excellent physician, like me, but he is also excellent at promoting the principles of weight loss medicine.”

He thought very highly of Dr. Adeyeh and referred at least one member of his family to Dr. Adeyeh.

“I refer my patients to Dr. Day,” Bazeron said, “I worked with him in a similar capacity for three and a half years, so I knew his work well. When he started his weight loss practice, I referred my wife to him. He treated her well, so she tells other people about him, and so do I.”

The most important thing about dealing with a chronic illness is working with your doctor to find the best approach for you, Adieh says.

“In the case of chronic illnesses, the key is to consult your doctor and explore different options for weight loss. I accept all kinds of referrals from family doctors for weight loss. We work synergistically,” he said.

Ahdieh said he has been working to lose weight since 2019 but has focused more on it in recent months.

“The most important thing is that we want patients to pay attention to lifestyle changes and diet and focus on losing weight and avoiding chronic disease,” he said.

There are benefits to tackling obesity, he said.

“The best part of my job is seeing patients improve and change their diet and really see results,” he says. “Just recently, one of my patients lost enough weight that he no longer needed to take his blood pressure medication. That made me so happy. I feel like I'm really helping someone who never really thought about losing weight before. These patients are actually helping other patients who are struggling with losing weight. It's encouraging for them to see someone succeed.”

He said he also faces challenges.

“For one, getting insurance approval for the drug can be difficult and very important, and it takes time to closely monitor patients to keep them safe and healthy,” he said.

Located at 1100 Trancas Street, Suite 211, Napa Valley Lifestyle and Wellness is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 707-637-4108.