Passioneer Joanna Dolgoff, M.D., Pediatrician and Child Obesity Expert
Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. is a pediatrician and child obesity expert. She is the creator of Dr. Dolgoff’s Weigh: Child and Adolescent Weight Management Program. She has been featured as a child obesity expert on WNBC News, WABC News, Fox 5 Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, My9 News and WPIX News. She shared her Passioneering interview with us in mid-December 2009:
SO: What’s your definition of “passion”?
A passion is an enthusiastic interest in anything. Somebody who follows their passion is able to spend their days doing what they love most.
SO: What are your biggest passions for serving others, and how are you expressing them (also include hobbies and volunteering)?
I am passionate about helping overweight children and families. I practiced general pediatrics for a number of years, feeling unable to truly help all of my overweight patients. In order to make ends meet, pediatricians have to see more and more patients in a limited amount of time. Generally, pediatricians spend about 4-7 minutes with each patient, during which time we have to cover all of his/her healthcare needs. Clearly, there was not enough time for nutrition counseling. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I had to do something to help the increasing number of overweight and obese children. In our country, one out of every three kids is now overweight or obese and at risk of medical illness due to weight. So, eighteen months ago, I invented a child weight loss program, abruptly quit my stable job and set out to open a practice devoted solely to child weight issues. Everybody thought I was crazy but I was determined. As it had always been an interest of mine, I had been researching the topic for a number of years. I spent a few months fine-tuning my plans and then opened up shop!
SO: Your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions for serving others, and how you have addressed them?
My biggest challenge was getting up the courage to leave a stable job and enter a new field. There are very few (if any) doctors in the country who solely specialize in child obesity. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make a living or if parents would be willing to acknowledge their children’s weight issues. But I felt so strongly about the need for a child obesity pediatric office that I decided to ignore my fears and move forward. Within weeks, I had a thriving practice!
SO: Your experience of “prosperity,” as you define it, in making the leap?
The greatest part of my success is the success of my patients. Over 90% of my patients have lost weight. Even better, they have decreased their risk of medical illness due to their weight and have significantly increased their self-confidence. There is nothing better than the look on a child’s face when he realizes that he is in control of his health.
Since I started my new career, my child weight loss program (http://www.DrWeigh.com) and I have been featured on WABC News, WNBC News, Fox 5 Morning Show, My9 News, and WPIX News. I have also filmed segments with the Today Show, NightLine, and Extra and I am a featured blogger for the Huffington Post. My book, Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, will be published by Rodale in December, 2009. Children from 44 different states are losing weight with my online weight loss program (http://www.DrWeigh.com) and I have since opened a second practice in Manhattan, NY.
SO: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in making the leap?
That you should be sure to follow your passions. If you love what you do, the money will follow. Regardless, you need to be happy every day of your life and the only way to accomplish that is by doing what you love. Nothing else matters!
SO: What’s your support system look like; how did you create it?
I am very lucky to have a fabulous support system. My grandfather first gave me the idea to leave my pediatrics practice and start a child weight loss program. My parents and my husband supported the idea from the very beginning. Everybody knew that this was something I was truly born to do and that it was something the country really needed.
SO: What wisdom do you have for someone who’s scared/discouraged about their own leap?
I kept telling myself that in the worst case scenario, I could always go back to what I had been doing previously. But if I didn’t take the chance, I would regret it for the rest of my life. You don’t want to look back on your life and regret not trying to follow your dreams. Particularly if those dreams help other people.
SO: What’s your next big milestone?
My book will be released in a few weeks! I am excited to see how that does. And then I plan to open Dr. Dolgoff’s Weigh practices all over the country!
Thanks Joanna and Happy Passioneering!
