Medical Weight Management Centers | Karen Holtmeier is director of medical nutrition therapy and co-founder of Medical Weight Management Centers as well as a nationally recognized leader in obesity and weight management treatments.

ABOUT KAREN HOLTMEIER, MPH, RD, LN

Karen Holtmeier, MPH, RD, LN
President and CEO
Director of Medical Nutrition Therapy

“I have always been interested in weight related health issues. Both of my parents struggled with their weight and I watched how it affected their overall health. My father had several heart attacks and died at the young age of 66. It was then that I decided to earn my bachelors degree in nutrition and dietetics.”

Karen is a registered dietitian and a licensed nutritionist. She is director of medical nutrition therapy and co-founder of Medical Weight Management Centers as well as a nationally recognized leader in obesity and weight management treatment. She has just been named the winner of the first annual Award of Excellence in Weight Management presented by the Weight Management Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association.

Ms. Holtmeier earned a master's degree in public health nutrition and a bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Minnesota.

Previously, she was director of nutrition and consumer information for the Minnesota Beef Council, manager of nutrition education at Park Nicollet Medical Center, corporate dietitian and health consultant for an employee wellness program at Control Data Corporation, and clinical dietitian at The Endocrinology Clinic of Minneapolis. She also has provided nutrition counseling to health club clients for 15 years.

“I can relate to patients' struggles, and I am blessed to understand the impact of physiology on eating habits as well as how food effects us. I feel that I have a very special gift of being able to put physiology and food together and teach others how to manage.”

Ms. Holtmeier is a member and director of continuing education for office assistants of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, a member of the American, Minnesota and Twin Cities District Dietetic Associations, as well as other professional and community organizations.
Ms. Holtmeier has conducted radio, television and newspaper interviews about nutrition, fast food and weight loss. Her advice and articles have been featured in Good Housekeeping, First for Women, Mpls/St.Paul, Minnesota Health Care News, Minnesota Medicine, The American Journal of Bariatric Medicine, and the Family Practice Research Journal.

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Yes, chew your food!

An abstract presented at the 2011 European Association for the Study of Diabetes suggests that thorough chewing stimulates the release of two intestinal peptides that reduce appetite and food intake in obese individuals. In a study of obese non-diabetic individuals, thorough chewing stimulated postprandial increases of plasma glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 and peptide YY (PYY), both of which are secreted by intestinal L cells.

It was reported that the postprandial plasma levels of both hormones were statistically significantly higher after chewing 30 times than after chewing 5. This suggests that thorough chewing of food might have a clinically meaningful effect in controlling body weight in obese individuals.

Once again, mom was right. Slow down, don’t talk with your mouth full and chew your food before you swallow….