I’m proud to be back walking with Team Lose to Win in the 2026 American Heart Association Heart Walk, this year alongside our captain, Erin Hendrickson. As a bariatric and advanced GI surgeon, I see every day how closely obesity and heart health are connected, and how even small steps toward weight loss can lead to real, lasting improvements in health.

Our team is made up of bariatric and obesity medicine specialists, staff, and our patients: people who are doing the hard work of taking charge of their health and proving that change is possible. The Center for Weight Management exists for every patient who struggles with obesity, and this walk is one more way we get to walk beside them on that journey. We walk to celebrate their progress, to support each other, and to stand against heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

This walk gives people a way to act, not just a reason to pay attention. Every dollar raised supports the American Heart Association’s research, education, and resources, work that changes lives.