Beyond Calories: Understanding the Science of Weight, Obesity, and Lasting Health

For decades, we've been taught that managing weight is simply a matter of eating less and exercising more. But after more than 20 years of treating patients with obesity and studying the biology behind weight regulation, I've learned that the reality is far more complex.

In this episode of Maintaining You: Health is Wealth, I join Rukky Arutere for a deeper conversation about what really influences weight and why traditional approaches don't always work. We explore the roles of genetics, biology, fat-cell function, early-life influences, and the body's powerful mechanisms for defending its weight.

We also discuss the important differences between childhood and adult obesity, why obesity should be understood as a disease rather than a failure of willpower, and how newer medications are changing the way we approach treatment.

Most importantly, we talk about the stigma surrounding weight and why better understanding matters. People living with obesity deserve evidence-based care, compassion, and treatment that recognizes the complexity of the disease.

My hope is that this conversation helps challenge some of the assumptions we've carried about weight and encourages a more informed, scientific, and compassionate approach to health.