How One Surgeon Challenged the Way Childhood Obesity Treated

A surgeon stands at a national podium, defends operating on children with severe obesity, and gets asked how he sleeps at night. Two decades later, he’s helped shape national guidelines and is building new ways for families to access care. That is what defines our candid conversation with Dr. Evan Nadler, a pioneer in pediatric bariatric surgery and a person who refuses to accept shame as a treatment plan.

We unpack how a field many didn’t know existed emerged from careful trials, relentless follow-up, and tough conversations with colleagues and parents. Dr. Nadler explains why “eat less, move more” is not a strategy but a slogan, how weight and health are not perfectly linked, and what it means to treat childhood obesity as a chronic disease with individualized options: lifestyle support, medications when appropriate, and surgery for the right patients. He shares the moment he paused a thriving surgical career to write a book, launch a telemedicine program, and scale advocacy for the 15 million children who need help now.

Access is the theme  of this story. Long waitlists and long drives leave families stranded, but a remote-first pediatric weight management model lowers barriers and personalizes care. We also talk about age cutoffs, why arbitrary numbers don’t belong in disease treatment, and how clinicians across different specialties can speak about weight with precision and compassion. Dr. Nadler is building training modules for advanced practice providers to close education gaps and equip more teams to act.

This episode is for you if you’ve ever wondered how medicine changes when data meets conviction.

Listen to the full episode below.