Dr. Jeffrey Levine, appears at his leanest in this photo from 2010, having dropped 180 pounds -- from his original weight of 400 to 220.

It’s that time of year, when resolutions to eat right and lose weight bloom into full-fledged, life-changing habits ... or wither and die on the vine.

Physician Jeffrey Levine, who lives in Hillsborough with his wife and four daughters, knows all about it. Levine is a family physician and women’s health specialist at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick. He also was a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” in 2005. Levine, who will turn 50 next month, weighed in at more than 400 pounds prior to joining the TV show. He was eliminated in the second to last week of the show, but Levine counts himself a winner.

Competing on the show gave him a jumpstart on losing more than 180 pounds. He now weighs between 270 and 275, and still struggles to keep the pounds off.

Today, he’ll speak at the UMDNJ President’s Lecture Series: “New Jersey’s Obesity Epidemic: the Role of the Health Care Professional.” Last year, the Trust for America’s Health found New Jersey, although among the least obese states, had an obesity rate that grew by 90 percent in 15 years. Editorial writer Linda Ocasio spoke with Levine about the battle of the bulge.

Q. Why are we so fat?

A. We’re consuming a greater calorie load, with lots of sugar and without nutrition in terms of protein, and it’s our portion size — there’s portion distortion. There’s less physical activity. Kids don’t run around outside anymore, they sit in front of the TV or computer. Forty percent of meals are eaten outside the home, and when you eat out, you eat twice as many calories. All these factors are interrelated. Physical education is often cut when school budgets are tight. That’s taken a toll as well.

Dr. Jeffrey Levine, a family physician and women'??s health specialist at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, appears at his heaviest in this 2003 file photo.

Q. How can health professionals help us?

A. You have to address this as a family approach. We treat one patient, but that might be a child or adult who doesn’t do the shopping or cooking for the household. You can send a kid to fat camp, but they return to a culture where it’s accepted to be overweight. If you single out a child or an adult, someone will undermine that, sometimes unintentionally. You need to look at it as a family health issue. And we need to make this a priority in medical school, train doctors to address this issue. We treat symptoms of obesity, such as painful joints and sleep apnea, but we don’t individualize and we don’t address emotional triggers of eating. We need to customize our approach for individuals.

Q. What’s your approach?

A. I go through what I learned from the show about myself. For some, weight is not a priority, it doesn’t affect them. They’re not ready yet. You have to get people to start thinking about their weight. For example, people who have problems with their knees don’t tie it to weight. I come up with a realistic plan. There’s no cookie-cutter approach. I don’t tell people what their ideal body weight is. That’s not realistic, not even for me. I focus on little changes: Lose 10 percent of your body weight and you’ll see a decrease in cardiovascular problems and diabetes. Focus on one or two pounds a week. Those who lose steady are more likely to have long-term success.

I tell people to keep a diary of what they eat and record their exercise. It’s therapeutic, you’re more conscious about what you’re eating. Why are you eating when you’re not hungry? I’ll suggest healthier alternatives, such as low-fat mayonnaise, or 93 percent lean ground beef vs. 80 percent. If a patient eats at Wendy’s every night, I help her look at the cost of that meal, not just in terms of calories.

Q. What about doctors and others who say some of us are genetically disposed toward obesity?

A. If you have one parent who is obese, that increases your risk of obesity to 50 percent; both parents obese, that rises to 80 percent. Both my parents were obese. I have many patients with genetic dispositions to things.

You can’t pick your parents, but you can significantly modify genetic risk through diet and exercise. I’m not going to wallow in self-pity.

Q. What is the secret?

A. Eat a good breakfast. Your body is a furnace and you need to give it twigs, not donuts. You have to eat to lose weight. If you don’t eat breakfast, you’ll make up for it later. People also underestimate the power of sleep. If you don’t get adequate sleep, your metabolic rate drops and you’ll compensate by eating. That’s my biggest problem — getting enough sleep.

Q. What advice can you give our readers?

A. Plan, plan, plan. This is what has helped my family. Pick a day when your family is not busy and make a menu for the week together. … My daughters are in every sport. When it’s really crazy, my wife will make a chicken salad wrap, which takes five minutes to make. Or she’ll heat up a soup that she made earlier in the week. We order out one day a week. The other six days, we cook. It’s healthy and we save enough to go away each summer.

Q. Other strategies?

A. Eat a salad before a party, or bring a healthy dish you like, such as turkey chili. And plan family activities that involve physical activity. We play soccer in our front yard at night and we go whitewater rafting. It’s fun and I don’t look at it as exercise. I’m still heavier than I should be. But I’m healthier than I was and I feel great. I know what it’s like and I understand, and we have to help doctors understand. No one wants to be heavy.