Top 5 Takeaways from #OMA2023

NYC for?Obesity Medicine Association ?#OMA2023 ?did not disappoint! What an incredible few days of connection, learning, and professional development! As?Harold B. ?closed the meeting, he left attendees with a memorable statement that deserves repeating, “Remember this day because it is a truly historic time in medicine and treatment of obesity!” With close to 1000 attendees, the energy around best practices in medical treatment for people with obesity was palpable and we all walked away with some new knowledge, tools, and strategies to better support people with the chronic disease of obesity.

My Top 5 Take Home Messages from?#ObesityMedicine2023 ?are about?#patientcenteredcare ?#weightbias ?#protein #musclemass #beyondBMI and #bodycomposition

1.???Patient-centered care starts by putting the patient first. Literally.

Keynote speaker,?Elizabeth Paul , kicked off the Spring Summit with a powerful keynote from the patient point of view about internalized?#weightbias ?that almost every other speaker referred to the rest of the meeting! She used her own experience with?#childhoodobesity , lighthearted humor, and respect for the role of the?#healthcareprovider ?to teach us how to better talk to patients about their visible and hidden battle with weight and weight bias.?#Language ?is critical and reminding patients that obesity is a disease, it is not their fault, and it is not theirs to manage alone are key components to building a trusting relationship.

For more info – register for the?Obesity Action Coalition ?#YWM2023 ?Virtual Meeting 4/29-4/30-->?https://lnkd.in/gdbSZpnf

2.???Working on Weight Bias through Words and Language.

Ted Kyle ?always gets us thinking and with a packed room, he took us through a brief history of?#obesitystigma ?and bias, and described how pervasive bias gets in the way of progress in the field of obesity through intellectual bias favoring personal convictions and weight bias directed at the person with the disease. It’s imperative we separate the idea that obesity is a disease, and obese is a stigmatizing identity that is not appropriate.

Ted’s Top 5 ways to overcome bias:

1) Examine implicit bias (like Harvard’s IAT-?https://lnkd.in/gWVETE2f ),

2) Listen first (use the patient’s word preferences),

3) Practice 5As, asking first!

4) Meet patients where they are (not where you want them to be)

5) Make shared decisions a priority.

For more info – check out Ted’s slides here -->?https://lnkd.in/gpHHA-79

3.?Protein-centric & Muscle-centric Perspective

Gabrielle Lyon , DO gave an engaging talk on dietary?#protein ?and the importance of protecting?#skeletalmuscle ?and?#obesogenic ?#sarcopenia ?that had us all thinking about a paradigm shift in the way we think about muscle and fat in obesity care. She urged the audience to consider reduced muscle mass, anabolic resistance, and sarcopenia as the most important health outcomes. She dove deep into the regulation of muscle protein synthesis, protein intake minimum and maximums, amino acids (Leucine in particular), showcased the unbalanced and often inadequate protein intakes that contribute to low skeletal muscle. Lyon suggests 30-50 grams or high quality protein at breakfast, equal distribution throughout the day (~1.2-1.5 g/kg day), and increased protein as we age due to impaired efficiency of protein synthesis.

4.?Individualized Treatment Goals?#BeyondBMI

Dr. Sylvia Gonsahn-Bollie, M.D., DABOM, FOMA ?took us through a brief history of?#BodyMassIndex ?and explored the limitations in its effectiveness at measuring?#adiposity ?and?#obesity . BMI is unable to measure body fat and cannot distinguish?#leanmusclemass ?from?#adiposetissue , and has trouble in individuals due to age, sex, ethnicity/race, and with variable musculature.

In the essence of?#patientcentered ,?#individualized ?approaches, she shared her protocol for discussing ‘healthy weight’ and ‘happy weight’ with patients:

#Healthyweight ?considers?#bodycomposition ?and a?#personalized ?measure of adiposity like?#bioimpedanceanalysis ?for body fat %,?#adjustedBMI ?and adjusted?#waistcircumference , and absence of obesity related conditions;

#Happyweight ?considers feelings, body satisfaction and self-image, self-esteem and mental health. Shared decision making and patient-centered care prevail!

For more info, check out the Obesity Pillars Article -->?https://lnkd.in/gEEDdX_x

For more on Happy/Healthy Weight Loss -->?https://lnkd.in/g4QtK6xr

5. Excessive weight reduction

Dr. Harold Bays closed the meeting with a great roundtable discussion from the Obesity Pillars Roundtable about ‘excessive weight reduction with highly effective anti-obesity medications’. Speakers focused first on the?#paradigmshift ?in medications with?#highlyeffective ? #antiobesity ? #medications ? producing?#significant ?#weightloss ?where some people may lose too much weight, and like metabolic/bariatric surgery, present?#challenges ?such as malnutrition, nutrient deficiencies, loss of lean body mass, and psychosocial issues.

Each speaker shared their top tips, summarized in the article and in the twitter thread below.

-??????Set?#realistic ?#BMI ?#expectations

-??????Consider setting minimum intake requirements for fluid, protein and calories

-??????Evaluate for secondary causes of weight loss like food aversion/avoidance

-??????Monitor closely and adjust medication dosage if needed

-??????Assess?#nutrition ?and?#relationship ?with food every visit

-??????Monitor?#BodyComposition ?with special attention on?#musclemass , ?#protein ?consumption and?#resistance ?training to prevent excessive muscle mass reduction

-??????Use a?#shareddecisionmaking ?approach

-??????Use body composition to diagnose and quantify?#adiposity

-??????Provide holistic and honest?#support ?and open?#communication ?about?#psychosocial ?needs

Angela Fitch MD, FACP, FOMA, Dipl. ABOM ?concluded by saying “I truly believe every office should have a body composition device to assess fat mass and muscle mass”… I do too!

For the Obesity Pillars Roundtable -->?https://lnkd.in/gD_uthBd

For my twitter thread on the session -->?https://lnkd.in/gpDVGCTH

Until next time!