Bariatric Medical Institute (BMI)

	Staff Physicians
Overview Our Approach Medical Director Staff Physicians Registered Dietitians Fitness Director Clinical Psychologist	A bilingual Ottawan, Dr. Erik Howarth, MD., CCFP, received his Medical Degree from the University of Ottawa and completed his residency training through Queen's University. Dr. Howarth has always been a strong proponent of a team based approach to health care and it was through his work with Community Health Centres that he first began working with patients on utilizing lifestyle as a means of medical treatment and disease prevention. Dr. Howarth eventually moved on from the Community Health Centres to open a more traditional family practice, and while he continued to counsel his patients on the importance of lifestyle management, as a family physician working on his own, he recognized quite quickly that in order to truly make an impact, he needed more extensive resources as being the doctor, dietitian, trainer, counselor and psychologist during a very brief monthly visit, simply was not sufficient to foster lifelong change. Dr. Howarth first became excited about the Bariatric Medical Institute watching the success of many of his family practice patients with BMI's program and then while attending the 2006 Ontario College of Family Physicians annual Scientific Assembly, Dr. Howarth had the opportunity to hear Dr. Freedhoff speak first hand about weight management and the unique multi-disciplinary approach of BMI. Excited for the opportunity to take a preventative approach to health care Dr. Howarth began working along side Dr. Freedhoff and is currently pursuing his certification in medical weight management through the American Board of Bariatric Medicine. Dr. Howarth brings to BMI his warmly empathic and supportive bedside manner, his thorough grounding in family medicine, and his tremendous enthusiasm to help his patients make lifelong healthy changes.