Palo Alto-Silicon Valley clinics›Medical weight loss
Palo Alto-Silicon Valley · Guide · Medical weight loss

Medical weight loss in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley

Your weight is one number, and it leaves a lot out. Here's which tests show what it's doing to your health, where weight loss medicines fit, and which Palo Alto-Silicon Valley clinics offer medical weight care.

Main tests
Weight, waist and blood pressure Plus blood sugar and a cholesterol panel
What you do
Measurements and a blood draw Sometimes a scan
You get
What your weight is doing to your health And a plan for eating, activity and any medicine
Palo Alto photograph by Blair Morris · Unsplash

The tests, in plain English

Start with your regular doctor and the basics: your weight, waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar and a cholesterol panel. Together they show whether your weight is affecting your health. A body scan or a metabolic rate test can add detail. Medicines, including GLP-1 drugs, are an option for some people, alongside changes to eating and activity.

Think of your weight like the balance on a bank statement. It tells you the total, but not where it's going. These tests read the line items: how much of you is fat, where it sits, and what it's doing to your blood sugar, blood pressure and liver.

Weight, BMI and waist

BMI, body mass index, compares your weight with your height. It's a quick screen, but it can't tell fat from muscle or show where fat sits. A waist over 35 inches for women or 40 for men is linked to more health problems.

Blood sugar (A1C)

Shows your average blood sugar over the past two or three months.

Blood pressure and cholesterol

Extra weight can raise your blood pressure and add to the conditions that lead to heart disease.

Liver tests

Fatty liver, when extra fat builds up inside the liver, most often affects people with extra weight.

Thyroid test

An underactive thyroid can bring weight gain and tiredness, but both are common and often have other causes.

Body composition (DEXA)

A low-dose X-ray scan that splits your weight into fat, muscle and bone, region by region.

Cash price: $65 to $249

Resting metabolic rate

Measures how many calories your body burns at rest, by reading your breath while you lie still.

Cash price: $50 to $300

Prices that clinics publish on their own websites, across all the cities we cover. Prices change, so confirm with the clinic.

Weight in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley, by the numbers

The rate of obesity in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley is lower than the national rate. About 1 in 5 adults in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley have obesity, compared with about 1 in 3 nationally. That adds up to roughly 330,000 adults in Santa Clara County.

21.9%of adults in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley have obesityUS: 33.2%
330,000adults in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley have obesityEstimated from CDC county figures
4Palo Alto-Silicon Valley clinics list weight careSee them below
Palo Alto-Silicon Valley does better than the US on all 3 measures
Share of adults, 2023. Lower is better.
Obesity
No exercise outside work
Diagnosed diabetes
↓ Data

Source: CDC PLACES, 2023 county estimates. Palo Alto-Silicon Valley = Santa Clara County, weighted by adult population.

longevityclinicshub.com

Your regular doctor can check your weight, waist and blood pressure at a routine visit. The tests above add detail if you want a closer look.

Showing 4 clinics that address medical weight loss in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley

How we order clinics
Biohackr Health, Palo Alto clinic

Biohackr Health, Palo Alto

Bryant Street, downtown Palo Alto
Lori Bluvas, MD, Lauren Greenberg, MD
Advanced diagnostics & emerging careStrength, fitness & body compositionCancer risk & screening

Biohackr Health Palo Alto is the brand's second clinic, opened in 2022 on Bryant Street downtown. The menu for this location spans semaglutide weight management, aesthetic and laser treatments, IV infusion therapies, EBO2 and VO2 max testing. Registered nurses treat under supervising physician Dr. Lori Bluvas, with treatments, packages and a monthly membership. People come here for weight loss and emerging care. Led by Lori Bluvas, MD, Lauren Greenberg, MD.

Tests & services

Comprehensive biomarker panel Continuous glucose monitoring Coronary calcium score GLP-1 weight loss program +24 more
See if it’s a fit
Peninsula Doctor clinic

Peninsula Doctor

Menlo Park, Peninsula
Genetics & biological ageMedical weight lossMidlife & menopause

A Menlo Park concierge practice built around three family medicine physicians, founded by Dr. Ian Kroes. Its longevity care line adds genetic testing, body analysis and a comprehensive fitness assessment on top of primary care. Two registered dieticians and two fitness trainers work alongside the doctors, and nutrition patients are matched to the specialist who fits their goals.

Tests & services

Genetic & genomic testing Health & nutrition coaching Longevity membership
See if it’s a fit
Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness clinic

Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness

Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos
Strength, fitness & body compositionAdvanced diagnostics & emerging careGenetics & biological age

The Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness has served Los Gatos from the same location since 2004, built by Dr. Renee Young around testing. Diagnostics run from VO2 max and grip strength to a 130+ biomarker NutrEval panel, Galleri and telomere testing, with blood drawn in the office. Care is paid per visit and per test. People come here for a whole-body baseline and hormones and energy.

Tests & services

Comprehensive biomarker panel Coronary calcium score DEXA scan GLP-1 weight loss program +24 more
See if it’s a fit

iThriveMD, Sunnyvale

West McKinley Avenue, Sunnyvale
Dr. Samir Damani, MD
Advanced diagnostics & emerging careCancer risk & screeningMedical weight loss

iThriveMD Sunnyvale is the South Bay clinic of a California and Arizona longevity brand, sitting inside the Revive Building just off El Camino Real. It publishes the biomarkers it measures by name across five pillars, from ApoB and lipoprotein(a) to HOMA-IR, APOE genotype and neurofilament light chain, and it treats to those numbers with GLP-1, hormone, peptide, NAD+ and IV protocols. Led by Dr. Samir Damani, MD.

Tests & services

Full-body MRI GLP-1 weight loss program Peptide therapy Telehealth visits +8 more
See if it’s a fit

How a weight care visit usually goes

  1. Your history first

    How your weight has changed, what you've tried, your medicines, sleep and family history.

  2. The testing

    Usually measurements and a blood draw, sometimes a scan. Ask what's included and what costs extra.

  3. Your results, explained

    What your weight is doing to your blood sugar, blood pressure and liver, and what may be behind it.

  4. A plan and a date

    Eating, activity, sleep, any medicine, and when to check in again. Ask if your doctor gets a copy.

If you gain weight fast with swollen feet or shortness of breath, or lose weight you can't explain, see your doctor soon. That needs a diagnosis, not a weight program.

Go deeper

Explainer What a DEXA scan shows about your body, and what it costs

One machine, two scans. What each one measures, how to read your report, and what it costs.
Data Which states have the highest obesity rates?

Adult obesity in every state, on a map and ranked, with what the numbers mean and the checks that matter most.
Explainer VO2 max by age: what’s a good number for you?

A chart by age and sex, how much oxygen your body can use at full effort, and what the test costs.

Common questions

Which clinics in Palo Alto-Silicon Valley address medical weight loss?

4 in our Palo Alto-Silicon Valley guide: Biohackr Health, Palo Alto, Peninsula Doctor, Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness and iThriveMD, Sunnyvale.

My BMI says I'm overweight, but I'm muscular. Does it still count?

Maybe less than it looks. BMI can't tell fat from muscle or show where fat sits, so doctors read it alongside other signs, like your blood pressure. Your waist size adds a lot, and a DEXA scan can show how much of your weight is actually fat.

What about GLP-1 weight loss medicines?

They copy a gut hormone that makes you feel full. Several are FDA-approved for adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition. With a lifestyle program, people lose more than with lifestyle alone. Nausea is common, and weight often returns after stopping.

Are compounded versions the same as the approved medicines?

No. Compounded drugs are mixed by a pharmacy, and the FDA doesn't review them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they're sold. It has received reports of people taking the wrong dose, some needing hospital care. If you're prescribed one, the FDA advises filling it at a state-licensed pharmacy.

I just want a DEXA scan. Where do I start?

Our DEXA scan page lists the clinics near you that offer it. If you plan to repeat it to track your progress, ask how often makes sense and who will go over the results with you.

What does this cost, and will insurance cover it?

It varies. Blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure checks are often covered when your doctor orders them. Body scans and metabolic rate tests are usually self-pay, and coverage for weight loss medicines depends on your plan. Our guides on cost and insurance go deeper.

How do you decide which clinics appear on this page?

A clinic appears here when its own published material shows it offers this kind of care at that location.

Sources (16)
  1. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Weight loss to prevent obesity-related morbidity and mortality in adults: behavioral interventions (2018)
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About body mass index (BMI)
  3. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Waist circumference (health dictionary)
  4. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Health risks of overweight and obesity
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Diabetes testing
  6. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Insulin resistance and prediabetes
  7. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Diagnosis of NAFLD and NASH
  8. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
  9. MedlinePlus, Weight gain (unintentional)
  10. MedlinePlus, Weight loss (unintentional)
  11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NHANES dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) whole body data documentation
  12. Direk and colleagues, The relationship between DXA-based and anthropometric measures of visceral fat and morbidity in women, BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 2013
  13. Frankenfield and colleagues, Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005
  14. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Prescription medications to treat overweight and obesity
  15. MedlinePlus, GLP-1 agonists
  16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA's concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss

This page is educational information, not medical advice, and it is not a recommendation to have or to skip any test or treatment. What is worth testing depends on your age, your history and your health, so discuss it with a clinician who knows them. If you gain weight quickly with swelling or breathlessness, lose weight you can't explain, or have another symptom that concerns you, seek a medical evaluation rather than a weight program.

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