Younan Nowzaradan is a reality television personality, writer, and medical expert. He is renowned for his expertise when it comes to bariatric and vascular surgery. Dr. Nowzaradan is the face of weight loss in America. He helps people who are categorized as morbidly obese drop weight to change their lives.
Despite having a celebrated career, Younan has often found himself on the end of controversy. Back in 2007, he was sued by one of his patient’s family after she lost her life during gastric surgery. Here are 11 interesting facts about Dr. Now, including his net worth and family.
Who is Dr. Nowzaradan?
Dr. Younan Nowzaradan is a TV star who features on My 600-lb Life. Obesity is one of the most prevalent problems in America. It affects more people than you can imagine, often vastly affecting how they live. In some instances, they are also bedridden, forcing their relatives to cater to them hand and foot.
The show follows obese people lucky enough to have Dr. Nowzaradan as their doctor. Each episode documents their incredible weight loss journey. The very first episode of the series dropped on February 1st, 2012, and was called ‘Melissa’s Story. It followed the incredible 7-year weight loss journey of a patient named Melissa. To date, Dr. Now has appeared in over 100 episodes.
The series is in its eighth season so far, boasting about 133 episodes in the process. His second show was called Half-Ton Teen. It did not enjoy the same success as my 600-lb life.
Dr. Younan Nowzaradan’s credentials include a stint at the University of Tehran, where he graduated with a BA in Medicine. After this, he was taken on as a resident at St. John’s Hospital in Michigan. Presently, he is a distinguished member of the American College of Surgery.
Dr. Nowzaradan Net Worth, Salary.
Younan’s primary source of income comes from his career as a surgeon. Sources say that bariatric surgeons make an average of $331,000 a year. Lest we forget, he has also enjoyed nearly a decade on television. This has enabled him to amass a vast net worth gradually. Dr. Nowzaradan is additionally the author of various health books.
One of his books, The Scale Does not Lie; People do, is available on Amazon for $35. It helps people with obesity in their journey to a healthy life. As its writer, Younan is entitled to a significant chunk of the profits. Presently, Dr. Nowzaradan’s net worth is $6 million.
Dr. Nowzaradan Was once married to Wife Delores Nowzaradan.
Younan and Delores met back in the 70s. At the time, Dr. Now was on the cusp of completing his residency and becoming a fully-fledged surgeon while Delores was working as a secretary at a local company. After dating for a while, the two decided to walk down the aisle in 1975. As a working surgeon, Younan could make enough money to support both of them, and so Delores stayed home to take care of the children the two went on to have.
After nearly 27 years of marriage, Younan and his wife finally decided to call it quits. So what went wrong, sparking their divorce in 2002? Well, for one, Dr. Now’s rigorous working schedule meant that he did not get to spend as much time with his wife as he would have liked. This is enough to put a strain on any relationship.
His Son Jonathan Nowzaradan.
Jonathan Nowzaradan is the son of Younan Nowzaradan and Delores Nowzaradan. He was born in Texas on the 6th of February, in 1978, and is now 42 years old. Jonathan is one of three children and grew up alongside his two sisters, Jennifer and Jessica. As a teenage boy, Jonathan showed signs of being business-minded when he invested $100 in some video games, which made him a $4000 profit.
Jonathan was the first person to pitch the concept of ‘My 600 Pound Life’ to his medically trained father. My 600 Pound Life quickly became a TV sensation in the US; Jonathan is the director and executive producer of the show, so he often works closely with his father.
However, this is not the only job that you will find on Jonathan’s CV. He is also the founder of Megalomedia, a media company, most famous for a documentary named ‘Half-Ton Mom.’ The show followed the life of 841 pound Renee Williams and was first premiered in 2008.
Dr. Nowzaradan’s son Jonathan is happily married to Virginia Amber Nowzaradan and has three children. The family is shielded from the world of social media, and so not much is known about Jonathan’s children. Amber is the primary caregiver for their children but also works alongside Jonathan on various media projects.
How old is Dr. Nowzaradan?
Dr. Now was born towards the end of the Second World War on the 11th of October in 1944. He is now 75 years old, but he doesn’t let age get in the way of his work!
Where is Dr. Now from?
Dr. Now is originally from Tehran in Iran. He moved to America after completing his doctorate in Medicine and has lived in Texas ever since. Younan identifies as Iranian-American.
Diet Plan.
Dr. Now’s diet plan is designed to help morbidly obese patients lose weight before undergoing weight-loss surgery. It is low in carbohydrates and focuses mainly on the consumption of vegetables and fruit, which provides most of the nutrition in the diet. The patient is required to weigh all of their food and record every single item that is consumed during each meal in a daily diary.
Each patient receives their customized diet plan, but all of the diets are similar. Dr. Nowzaradan restricts daily calorie intake to roughly 1000 calories, which is a significant reduction for morbidly obese individuals. However, the diet does not focus on depriving people of food; it instead focuses on eating real food in small portions.
Some foods are forbidden during the diet, such as sugary and fried food, rice, pasta, and natural sweeteners. Recommended meats include grilled or broiled lean meats, such as turkey, rabbit, fish, and chicken. Preferred vegetables include beans, carrots, broccoli, and leeks. High sugar fruits, such as watermelon, should be avoided and all kinds of potatoes too.
The diet is challenging to follow at first, as it often forces people to eat food that they would not naturally choose. However, it has been proven to decrease body weight dramatically before surgery.
Dr. Nowzaradan Surgery Cost.
Dr. Now has over 20 years of experience in his field. His surgery is not very open when it comes to the costs of different procedures. Depending on the patient’s insurance, some costs may be covered, but many say that surgery alone will cost $20,000-$30,000, and one patient even quoted spending $67,000 before insurance paid half. If patients attend as part of the TV show, part of the costs will be covered.
His Patients.
Successful stories include that of Christina Phillips, Sarah Neeley, and Chuck Turner.
Christina Phillips is said to have lost the most weight on the show. When she joined the show, she weighed a whopping 708 pounds, which reduced to a tiny 183 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Looking at Christina’s Instagram page, it is clear that she has managed to keep off the weight after the show too.
Sarah Neeley joined the show after suffering a devastating miscarriage, most likely caused by her weight. When she joined the show, she weighed 642 pounds. By the end of the show, this had reduced to 393 pounds, which continued to decrease to 200 some months after the show. Sarah is now happily engaged and pregnant.
Chuck Turner weighed roughly 700 pounds when he joined the show and left weighing 260 pounds. After losing weight, he worked hard to change his attitude towards foods so that he could continue to live at his reduced weight, which, up to this day, he has.
However, some participants failed to lose weight because of various reasons. Sadly, some patients on the show have some kind of underlying trauma, which has caused them to overeat, and despite undergoing weight loss, they are unable to lead happy lives until they address their issues.
He has written a book.
Dr. Now’s book, ‘Last Chance to Live,’ was released in 2015, and delves into the reality of obesity. He gathers all of the knowledge gained over many years to help others to understand patients who are obese. In the book, he tackles some myths about obesity, as well as providing potential patients with tips on how to lose weight. He looks at the causes of obesity and the effects that it can have on an individual’s body.
Social media.
Being a popular television personality, it comes as no surprise that Dr. Nowzaradan is relatively famous on social media. On Instagram, for example, he has a following of 241K. Younan extensively posts about healthy living, particularly in relation to people with weight problems. In one of his recent posts, he talked about how there was no such thing as a healthy snack. This sparked quite a bit of controversy as a few of his followers were quick to contradict him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CApSUpSnuNX/
On Twitter, Dr. Now has a significantly lesser following; 4,358 followers, to be exact. Much like his Instagram account, he uses this platform to promote healthy living. Another thing he promotes is his TLC sponsored show, my 600-lb life.