Obesity: A Disease

In episode two of our five-part Advocacy series, Dr. Nicholas Pennings, an Obesity Medicine Specialist and Clinical Education Director at OMA, engages in a comprehensive discussion with Dr. Vicki March and Dr. Cate Varney on the topic of weight bias and stigma. They dive into the challenges surrounding misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis that affect patient outcomes for those with obesity. Together, they uncover the weight-centric focus, the blame and shame patients often face, and the barriers posed by outdated equipment and negative attitudes within the medical field. With insights from real-world experiences, the episode sheds light on the communication breakdowns and hostile environments that shape healthcare today.

Episode Guests:

Vicki March, MD

Cate Varney, DO, FAAFP, ABOM

Related Resources:

Learn how you can become a champion for increased access to obesity care.

In this episode, Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) Chief Science Officer, Harold Bays, MD, FOMA, FTOS, FACC, FNLA, FASPC interviews Dr. Maria Daniela Hurtado. Our experts discuss the Obesity Pillars article, Weight-Centric Prevention of Cancer, for which Dr. Hurtado was a co-author. Obesity Pillars is the official Gold Open Access journal of the Obesity Medicine Association, available exclusively online.

In our article review podcasts, we carefully select articles from the latest version of Obesity Pillars, which is devoted to the publication of clinical and evidence-based research for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health care clinicians in the field of obesity medicine. Obesity Pillars can be found at https://www.journals.elsevier.com/obesity-pillars. We then discuss this new science with obesity experts. To access other resources from the clinical leader in Obesity Medicine, please visit: www.obesitymedicine.org 

Episode Guests

Maria Daniela Hurtado, MD, PhD

Related Resources

Obesity Pillars®

Weight-centric prevention of cancer

In this first epsiode of a five part Advocacy series, Dr. Nicholas Pennings, an Obesity Medicine Specialist and Clinical Education Director at OMA, engages in a comprehensive discussion with Dr. Laura Davisson and Emily Weaver on the critical role of advocacy in Obesity Medicine. They explore the importance of advocacy, provide actionable steps for initiating and sustaining advocacy efforts, and offer insights into how patients and their families can effectively advocate for themselves. Additionally, they discuss how healthcare providers can support and enhance these advocacy efforts to drive positive change in obesity care.

Episode Guests:

Laura Davvison, MD, MPH, FACP

Emily Weaver, BSN, RN, AGPCNP

Related Resources:

Learn how you can become a champion for increased access to obesity care.

In this Episode, Obesity Medicine Specialist and OMA Clinical Education Director Dr. Nicholas Pennings interviews, Dr. Kirsten Frederiksen, a highlighted speaker from the Obesity Medicine 2024 Conference session We All Win: Combining Medical-Surgical Obesity Care and chair of the Obesity Medicine Association’s Bariatric Medical-Surgical Committee. In this episode, Dr. Frederiksen will share her personal experiences in developing a combined medical-surgical obesity treatment program and address the benefits and challenges of setting up this type of care model.

Episode Guests:

Kirsten Frederiksen, MD, MSc, FACP, FOMA, DABOM

Related Resources:

We All Win: Combining Med-Surg Obesity Care

In this episode, Executive Editor of the Obesity Medicine Association’s ‘Obesity Pillars’ online journal, Dr. Suzanne Cuda interviews Dr. Valerie O’Hara. Our experts discuss the ‘Obesity Pillars’ article Special Considerations for the Shild with Obesity: An Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) clinical practice statement (CPS) 2024, for which Dr. Cuda and Dr. O’Hara are co-authors. Obesity Pillars is the official Gold Open Access journal of the Obesity Medicine Association, available exclusively online.

Episode Guests

Valerie O’Hara, DO

Related Resources

Obesity Pillars®

Special considerations for the child with obesity: An Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) clinical practice statement (CPS) 2024

In this episode, Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) Chief Science Officer, Harold Bays, MD, FOMA, FTOS, FACC, FNLA, FASPC interviews Sandra Christensen, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC, FAANP. Our experts discuss the Obesity Pillars article, Obesity, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease: A joint expert review from the Obesity Medicine Association and the National Lipid Association 2024, for which Sandra was a co-author. Obesity Pillars is the official Gold Open Access journal of the Obesity Medicine Association, available exclusively online.

In our article review podcasts, we carefully select articles from the latest version of Obesity Pillars, which is devoted to the publication of clinical and evidence-based research for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health care clinicians in the field of obesity medicine. Obesity Pillars can be found at https://www.journals.elsevier.com/obesity-pillars. We then discuss this new science with obesity experts. To access other resources from the clinical leader in Obesity Medicine, please visit: www.obesitymedicine.org 

Episode Guests

Sandra Christensen, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC, FAANP

Related Resources

Obesity Pillars®

In this Episode, Obesity Medicine Specialist and OMA Clinical Education Director Dr. Nicholas Pennings interviews, Dr. Carl Knopke, a highlighted speaker from the Obesity Medicine 2024 Conference session Hunger, Satiety, and Mental Health: A Complex Dance. In this episode, they will discuss stress, anxiety, and depression and the role they play in the appetite regulatory process via complex hormonal pathways. Additionally, they will review possible novel treatment approaches to aid the stressed patient in losing weight.

In this Episode, Obesity Medicine Specialist and OMA Clinical Education Director Dr. Nicholas Pennings interviews, Theodore Kyle, a highlighted speaker from the Obesity Medicine 2023 Conference session The Power of Putting People First: the Importance of the Language We Use. In this episode, they will discuss the importance of the language healthcare providers use and how it can potentiate the stigma that patients with obesity experience. They will review existing evidence surrounding the impact of language and communication style on weight management outcomes and discuss best practices to minimize feelings of weight stigma and weight bias during patient interactions. 

In this Episode, Obesity Medicine Specialist and OMA Clinical Education Director Dr. Nicholas Pennings interviews, Dr. Kathi Earles, a highlighted speaker from the Overcoming Obesity 2023 Conference, Obesity & Health Disparities: It's A Family Affair. In this episode they will discuss institutional framework resulting in health disparities, review the impact of social determinants of health on family-centered obesity treatment for the pediatric and adult population, identify innovative strategies to apply a family-centered treatment model for patients.

In this episode Co-Authors, Dr. Harold Bays and Dr. Angela Fitch, review the article Obesity, thrombosis, venous disease, lymphatic disease and lipedema: An Obesity Medicine Association Clinical Practice Statement 2023.