The pounds they lose is a gain for those with little

Annie Retter, right, and her sister Linda Chute, moved by the hunger they saw while traveling in Africa, decided to lose weight and donate the money they saved to help feed children there.

[Star Tribune, November 01, 2010] Annie Retter was so shaken by the hunger she witnessed on a recent trip to Africa that she slashed her food budget -- and consumption -- to send her savings there. Her sister did the same.

Each has dropped more than 60 pounds thanks to the "Africa diet" they started in March. They now send $400 to $500 a month to a children's meal program in Namibia.

"The durability of the weight loss is what concerns me," added Deborah Vanderhall, manager of Abbot Northwestern Hospital's Center of Bariatric Surgery. "Often people are motivated by being number one, but once the event is over, they slip."

Posted on November 01, 2010 in Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Bariatrics