Working It Out

“If physicians just tell patients to eat less and exercise more, it’s not particularly helpful,” he says. “We have to show them how it’s done.”

Dr. Kampert is a Cleveland Clinic Staff Physician, with dual appointments in sports medicine and endocrinology. He completed his residency in family medicine at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital, where the Brentwood Foundation generously supports graduate medical education.

The Brentwood Foundation also funded THE BRIDGE PROJECT, a research study established by Dr. Kampert and mentor Debasis Sahoo, MD. It sought to help patients lead healthier lives through better eating habits, guideline-based exercise and the use of technology to monitor progress. Over 12 months, many participants lost more than 10% of their body weight, decreased their need for medications for diabetes and hypertension and improved their overall quality of life. Philanthropy jump-started the research. “Without it, I would’ve had to work my way up gradually through larger and larger grants, which would’ve taken at least five years,” says Dr. Kampert, who is pursuing a doctorate in exercise physiology.

He dreams of creating an exercise medicine center of excellence at Cleveland Clinic. A human performance lab with leading-edge fitness equipment would provide clinical exercise space for care, research and education across disciplines and institutes. “My goal is to make healthcare less about disease management and more about health,” Dr. Kampert says. “Good health is the best defense against disease.”