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When it comes to weight management in the pediatric arena, we are faced with a lot of complexity. As a parent, it can be challenging to know where to start or how to approach the issue without causing harm to your child.

Unfortunately, where health and weight management is concerned, self-compassion is not the first thing that springs to mind. Instead, the toxic diet culture beliefs that we have been brought up with, often end up seeping into our teens’ way of thinking too. 

Board certified pediatrician and life coach Dr. Karla Lester is a passionate advocate for children’s health, and has worked tirelessly to teach kids, (and their parents!) to ditch self judgment, love themselves as they are, and feel empowered to take action on their health. She joins me in this episode to give her take on the role of weight stigma, toxic media messaging, and weight loss medications in tackling the childhood obesity epidemic.

(While there is a focus on teen health, this episode is relevant for anyone who wants to know how to support people with weight management, without causing more harm.)

Connect with Dr. Karla Lester:

Website: www.imecommunity.com

Telehealth: www.drkarlamd.com

TikTok: @imecommunity

Insta: @ime_community

YouTube: @imecommunity 

IME Community Podcast on Apple and Spotify

Doctors on Social Media: https://doctorsonsocialmedia.com/karla-lester-md/

KevinMD.com: https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/karla-lester

References

Gordon, Aubrey. “Leave Fat Kids Alone.” The New York Times, 2020.

Quotes

08:28 - “Self-love is a superpower.” -Karla Lester MD

08:38 - “We think that we have to be negative, perfectionistic, grind out goals, and happiness is at the finish line. That's what diet culture teaches us and parents are really stuck in it.” -Karla Lester MD

21:47 - “Body diversity is a fact. We're going to celebrate it. You don't cause and you don't control.” -Karla Le

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

CLICK HERE to purchase Premium Season 1 of The Obesity Guide: Behind the Curtain and unlock exclusive content! Dive into real clinical scenarios, from my personal medication journey to tackling weight loss plateaus, understanding insulin resistance, and overcoming challenges with GLP-1s. Plus, get a 40+ page guide packed with protein charts, weight loss formulas, and more. Don’t miss out—available now!