Dr. Robert Kushner

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
A canvas bag with the words "Eat better. Live better." hanging on a hook

Be Better, Not Perfect – a Lifelong Healthy Eating Strategy

Seeking perfection in your diet plan is a set-up for failure. A common misperception my patients struggle with is thinking they have to strive for perfection in order to eat more healthfully. Whether it’s banning all carbs, sugar or fat from one’s diet, extreme food restrictions are hard to maintain for the long run. They

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

Can Your Cell Phone Help You Eat Better, Move More, Stress Less?

One of my yearly medical student classes I teach at Northwestern University is helping our future physicians learn behavior change strategies to improve their own health. Examples of targeted health behaviors may include not exercising regularly, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, eating too many sweets or fast food, not getting enough hours of sleep

Read More

Eat Healthier this Holiday Season

We all struggle with eating temptations over the holidays. The key to healthy holiday eating is to plan ahead so you feel in control to enjoy the foods you love in moderate portions. Here are some tips that have worked for my patients and can work for you too: 1-Don’t Go to the Party Hungry

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

Healthy Eating Shortcuts

Healthy eating requires planning ahead. Though this does take some time, it doesn‘t have to be so time intensive. In this blog, I share some time-saving tips that help my family eat better and healthier. 1 – Try Convenient Apps for Shopping No time to go to the grocery store? Check out your neighborhood for

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
A canvas bag with the words "Eat better. Live better." hanging on a hook

Be Better, Not Perfect – a Lifelong Healthy Eating Strategy

Seeking perfection in your diet plan is a set-up for failure. A common misperception my patients struggle with is thinking they have to strive for perfection in order to eat more healthfully. Whether it’s banning all carbs, sugar or fat from one’s diet, extreme food restrictions are hard to maintain for the long run. They

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

Can Your Cell Phone Help You Eat Better, Move More, Stress Less?

One of my yearly medical student classes I teach at Northwestern University is helping our future physicians learn behavior change strategies to improve their own health. Examples of targeted health behaviors may include not exercising regularly, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, eating too many sweets or fast food, not getting enough hours of sleep

Read More

Eat Healthier this Holiday Season

We all struggle with eating temptations over the holidays. The key to healthy holiday eating is to plan ahead so you feel in control to enjoy the foods you love in moderate portions. Here are some tips that have worked for my patients and can work for you too: 1-Don’t Go to the Party Hungry

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

Healthy Eating Shortcuts

Healthy eating requires planning ahead. Though this does take some time, it doesn‘t have to be so time intensive. In this blog, I share some time-saving tips that help my family eat better and healthier. 1 – Try Convenient Apps for Shopping No time to go to the grocery store? Check out your neighborhood for

Read More