Cardiovascular surgeon works to help prevent obesity

Business Record (Des Moines), March, 2004 by Beth Dalbey

Dr. Alan R. Koslow has seen the effects of obesity from the inside. A cardiovascular surgeon who recently left the Iowa Heart Center, he's performed more than 300 major operations, many of which could have been prevented through dietary adjustments.

Ninety-five percent of Koslow's patients were obese, diabetic or both. "I wanted to help people with dieting and controlling diabetes," he said.

So he's taken a year off from the practice of medicine to open Piques Diets and Desserts at 2687 86th St. in Urbandale's Westmark II shopping plaza. The store, a combination grocery store and dessert and coffee bar that features an array of diet-friendly sweets, opens April 15, though the official grand opening isn't until May 14-16.

His new business will open...