Anti-Gravity Treadmill Makes Exercise Reality For Obese Patients

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) --We've all been told one of the best ways to lose weight is to exercise, but if you're 100 to 200 pounds overweight, exercise can be pretty tough.

But what if you could work out as if you were half of your weight? CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez said it's possible with an anti-gravity treadmill.

A present-day Kim Ruggiero is pretty fit, happy and only somewhat overweight. However, eight months ago, she was a very different woman.

"I was becoming very uncomfortable and it was hard to get around. My back hurt. I'm sure it wasn't good for my knees," she said.

After two hip replacements, Ruggiero's weight had climbed to 280 pounds and at just 5-foot-3, her BMI was 50 and categorized as morbidly obese.

"When I saw pictures of myself I was shocked at the person who I had become... and I did not want to be that person," she said.

Ruggiero had obesity surgery last November, which jump-started her weight loss. She knew that exercise would speed the process and help keep the weight off, but she was still very heavy and had numerous barriers to exercise.

"They can have joint disease, they have restriction in how they breathe, they also generate more heat. And as a result, all of those things limit their exercise tolerance," Dr. Mitchell Roslin of Northern Westchester Hospital Center said.

The bariatric surgeon hit on the idea of using a unique machine to help his patients exercise, called the AlterG, a kind of anti-gravity treadmill patented by NASA. It uses an inflatable chamber to help users literally become semi-weightless. Users can even dial in how much gravity they want to lose.

"They can workout for longer. They can workout at a higher intensity, at a higher speed, and not feel any of the pain or some of the endurance issues that sometimes plagued them in the past," Northwestern Westchester Hospital Center Director of Rehab Michael Silverman said.

The Alter-G has helped Ruggiero lose 90 pounds and counting and she is now able to use a regular treadmill at home.

"I'm doing great. I have never felt better. I'm at a weight now where I have not been in over 21 years. I'm off all of my medications. I feel fantastic," she said.

Because the AlterG can lift as much as 75 percent of a person's weight off, it's also used for getting obese individuals in better shape prior to surgery. Dr. Rolsin said the goal isn't to make skinny patients, it's to make fit patients and that takes exercise.