Weight management program at the Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute

The Nutrition, Fitness and Weight Management Programs focus on the development of lifestyle and behavioral changes that promote healthy, balanced eating. The multidisciplinary team includes internists, nurses, a psychologist, dietitians, and a surgeon. The programs use nutritional and physical activity counseling, psychological and lifestyle counseling, medication and surgery, and entail both group and individual formats to accommodate the full spectrum of weight management needs.

Robert F. Kushner, MD, MS, FACP

Robert Kushner is Medical Director of the Wellness Institute and the Nutrition, Fitness and Weight Management Programs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In addition, he is a Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School. His teaching experience, which as spanned the past two decades, has emphasized the different aspects of nutrition and how it plays a role in health, disease, and behavior.

Dr. Kushner received his medical degree from the University of Illinois. His postgraduate training and education includes an internship and residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital; a Fellowship in Clinical Nutrition at the University of Chicago Hospitals; and an master's degree in Clinical Nutrition at the University of Chicago. He is board certified in internal medicine and nutrition.

Dr. Kushner has focused his clinical research efforts on the effects of diet and exercise on body weight, body composition and energy expenditure, and the utility of bioelectrical impedance analysis in measuring change in body water compartments. He has authored more than 80 articles, book chapters and abstracts on these topics. Dr. Kushner is co-principal investigator for a five-year National Health Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Nutrition Academic Award that supports the development of a comprehensive nutrition curriculum for the medical school. He was also recently awarded a grant from the Weight Watchers Foundation for the training of medical residents in the management of obesity. Dr. Kushner serves on the editorial board for Nutrition in Clinical Care and is a reviewer for a number of journals on nutrition.

Aside from his memberships in several professional societies, including the American Heart Association, the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), Dr. Kushner holds the position of President Elect of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN). In recognition of his contributions to medicine, Dr. Kushner is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

Send comments or questions to
C.O.R.E. Program Director Dr. Holly Wyatt.