Obesity care

Graphic of a man thinking about a burger

Food Noise: A New Name for an Old Problem

For the past 4 decades, I have treated patients who struggle with weight. And I have also identified a subset of individuals who are more tempted by the obesogenic food environment we all live in. “I think about food all the time.” “As hard as I try, I can’t clear my head from being preoccupied

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Graphic of a stethoscope listening to a red heart and reporting a heartbeat's rhythm

Is Waist Size Measurement the New Obesity Care Vital Sign?

If you struggle with excess weight, most likely your health care visits include measurements of your weight, height, and blood pressure, as well as a calculation of your BMI (body mass index). But what about your waist circumference? As an obesity medicine physician specialist, I’ve been measuring waist circumference on my patients for over 25

Read More
Body tape measure laying on top of a glass body scale

New Report Advances the Conversation on Obesity Care

Consensus is hard. As a member of the Lancet Commission on Definition and Diagnostic Criteria of Clinical Obesity among 58 experts from around the world, our just released report aims to define clinical obesity and aid in clinical decision making and therapeutic interventions. With over 1 billion people living with obesity worldwide, this report begins

Read More
Cover of Dr. Kushner's book, "Six Factors to Fit"

Personal Weight Struggles Require a Personalized Approach

I learned long ago that generic weight loss advice doesn’t work well for most people. That’s because managing weight is personal, influenced by your likes and dislikes, health goals and personal challenges. This applies whether or not you’re taking one of the newer anti-obesity medications. I wrote my book, Six Factors to Fit: Weight Loss that Works

Read More

Improving Weight Management Outcomes Beyond the Scale

We are a weight-focused society but when it comes to managing weight long term, having a weight-only narrow focus can be detrimental. Throughout my 4-decade career I have stressed the importance of lifestyle modification being foundational for losing weight and achieving better health. Now with an average 15-20% weight loss with the new injectable obesity

Read More

Enhancing Obesity Care with Innovative Medical Education

I am passionate about educating both current and future health care professionals on the care of patients living with the disease of obesity. If you’re a patient struggling with overweight or obesity, you need health care providers who are knowledgeable and skilled in giving you the most effective treatments. Here, I’d like to share some

Read More
Graphic of a stethoscope listening to a red heart and reporting a heartbeat's rhythm

Expanding the Provision of Obesity Care

As an obesity medicine physician, I have been on a mission to train health care professionals about providing obesity care in their practices. Most recently, I spoke at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress where the room was packed with colleagues wanting to learn about new obesity care treatments. The timing was perfect as

Read More

Take a More Active Role in Your Weight Management Care

As a weight management expert, I’ve been encouraging my patients to take a more active role in their care for years. If this is something you’re interested in doing, engaging in shared decision making with your health care professional can be helpful. Shared decision-making is a process whereby health care professionals and patients come to

Read More

Obesity Care Rx Considerations

Effective obesity care management begins with lifestyle modification (healthy eating patterns, increased physical activity and health behavior modification) for everyone as this is needed for optimal health. For select patients where lifestyle management is not effective enough to achieve improved health, medications or bariatric surgery can also be considered. As new and more effective medication

Read More

Get Support for Obesity Care

If you struggle with overweight or obesity, you’re probably aware of the mixed messages in the media that surround the disease of obesity as well as its treatments. In support of Obesity Care Week, an annual public awareness campaign, I’d like to highlight some important obesity care resources: 1-Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) OAC is a

Read More
Graphic of a man thinking about a burger

Food Noise: A New Name for an Old Problem

For the past 4 decades, I have treated patients who struggle with weight. And I have also identified a subset of individuals who are more tempted by the obesogenic food environment we all live in. “I think about food all the time.” “As hard as I try, I can’t clear my head from being preoccupied

Read More
Graphic of a stethoscope listening to a red heart and reporting a heartbeat's rhythm

Is Waist Size Measurement the New Obesity Care Vital Sign?

If you struggle with excess weight, most likely your health care visits include measurements of your weight, height, and blood pressure, as well as a calculation of your BMI (body mass index). But what about your waist circumference? As an obesity medicine physician specialist, I’ve been measuring waist circumference on my patients for over 25

Read More
Body tape measure laying on top of a glass body scale

New Report Advances the Conversation on Obesity Care

Consensus is hard. As a member of the Lancet Commission on Definition and Diagnostic Criteria of Clinical Obesity among 58 experts from around the world, our just released report aims to define clinical obesity and aid in clinical decision making and therapeutic interventions. With over 1 billion people living with obesity worldwide, this report begins

Read More
Cover of Dr. Kushner's book, "Six Factors to Fit"

Personal Weight Struggles Require a Personalized Approach

I learned long ago that generic weight loss advice doesn’t work well for most people. That’s because managing weight is personal, influenced by your likes and dislikes, health goals and personal challenges. This applies whether or not you’re taking one of the newer anti-obesity medications. I wrote my book, Six Factors to Fit: Weight Loss that Works

Read More

Improving Weight Management Outcomes Beyond the Scale

We are a weight-focused society but when it comes to managing weight long term, having a weight-only narrow focus can be detrimental. Throughout my 4-decade career I have stressed the importance of lifestyle modification being foundational for losing weight and achieving better health. Now with an average 15-20% weight loss with the new injectable obesity

Read More

Enhancing Obesity Care with Innovative Medical Education

I am passionate about educating both current and future health care professionals on the care of patients living with the disease of obesity. If you’re a patient struggling with overweight or obesity, you need health care providers who are knowledgeable and skilled in giving you the most effective treatments. Here, I’d like to share some

Read More
Graphic of a stethoscope listening to a red heart and reporting a heartbeat's rhythm

Expanding the Provision of Obesity Care

As an obesity medicine physician, I have been on a mission to train health care professionals about providing obesity care in their practices. Most recently, I spoke at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress where the room was packed with colleagues wanting to learn about new obesity care treatments. The timing was perfect as

Read More

Take a More Active Role in Your Weight Management Care

As a weight management expert, I’ve been encouraging my patients to take a more active role in their care for years. If this is something you’re interested in doing, engaging in shared decision making with your health care professional can be helpful. Shared decision-making is a process whereby health care professionals and patients come to

Read More

Obesity Care Rx Considerations

Effective obesity care management begins with lifestyle modification (healthy eating patterns, increased physical activity and health behavior modification) for everyone as this is needed for optimal health. For select patients where lifestyle management is not effective enough to achieve improved health, medications or bariatric surgery can also be considered. As new and more effective medication

Read More

Get Support for Obesity Care

If you struggle with overweight or obesity, you’re probably aware of the mixed messages in the media that surround the disease of obesity as well as its treatments. In support of Obesity Care Week, an annual public awareness campaign, I’d like to highlight some important obesity care resources: 1-Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) OAC is a

Read More