HEALTH CARE : New Irvine Firm Acts as a Broker of Sorts for ‘Morbidly Obese’

Dick Gregory’s well-publicized obesity program notwithstanding, Frank Lee, co-founder of Comprehensive Weight Management Inc. in Irvine, said there are too few organized programs dealing with the severely obese.

“These people are really in need of help,” said Lee, the new firm’s chief executive. “We treat people who have tried other programs and failed.”

Comprehensive Weight Management, acting as a broker of sorts, hopes to match the “morbidly obese”--those who are overweight by 100 pounds or more--with hospitals and weight-loss medical specialists.

The company sets up both surgery for obese clients and behavioral therapy. It’s one thing, Lee says, to provide a surgical procedure. It’s another to train obese people to alter their eating habits and provide psychological counseling to help them understand the root of their problem.