Obesity care
This is an exciting time for heart health as a recent landmark study called SELECT has shown that taking the anti-obesity medication semaglutide can lower your risk for having a second cardiac event by 20%, while losing an average of over 9% body weight. And a new American Heart Association (AHA) Presidential Advisory highlights the…
I recently attended the Obesity Action Coalition’s (OAC) Your Weight Matters 2023- Engage conference in Orlando. No matter how long I’ve been practicing, I continue to be inspired by those who share personal weight journey stories that include both their struggles and successes. Throughout the weekend, we heard inspiring stories from former professional football players,…
Before I help patients develop a personalized weight loss plan, I want to better understand each person’s weight journey – and how they got to where they are today. I have a technique I’ve used where I ask patients to plot their weight at different times of their life. For most patients, they are able…
One of the greatest barriers to accessing care for people with overweight or obesity are patients’ feelings of being judged by others because of excess weight. As I educate health care professionals about caring for patients with the disease of obesity, I address this by making sure that clinicians are firstly aware of their own…
With 5 hours of presentations, the Your Weight Matters 2023 Virtual Convention reached more than 1500 people around the world. I’d like to share some highlights from one of the talks given by clinical health psychologist Robyn Pashby on the topic of body positivity and weight management and how to find the middle ground between…
A common refrain I hear from patients is, “Dr. Kushner, I know what to do to lose weight, I am a smart person. I just can’t seem to do it and stick with it!” I typically respond to them by making an analogy to coaching. Elite athletes, musicians and dancers know what to do, but…
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. As exciting new obesity care treatments become available, the science of obesity care continues to be questioned. That’s why I was so pleased last month during Obesity…
I recently added a lecture on ‘diabesity’ to the medical student curriculum at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Here’s why. Over 90% of people with diabetes also struggle with their excess weight. ‘Diabesity’ is the term we now use for the dual epidemics of diabetes and obesity that are both rising worldwide and often…
Whether you’re a patient or a provider, you know how quickly time can pass during a health care encounter. Your provider’s priorities may be to discuss your chief complaint, medications, lab results and other chronic medical problems. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to counsel you on managing weight. That’s why I recommend that…
With all the exciting new drugs being developed to help people better manage weight, you may wonder if the time you’re spending on improving health habits are still worth your time and effort. Choosing healthier foods, becoming more active, getting more hours of restful sleep and better managing stress do take lots of time and…
