Turning Passion into Advocacy

Sometimes the career you were meant to have is one you never knew existed.

For Kia Mitchell, MD, DABOM, that realization came during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before then, she rarely spent time on social media but, during the shutdown, found herself reconnecting with colleagues online. One day, she came across a post from a fellow physician celebrating their new board certification in obesity medicine.

"I’d never really known that was a space," she recalled.

This sparked a curiosity that led her to the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the Obesity Medicine Association. The more she learned about obesity medicine, the more she realized this was exactly where she belonged.

"I found that it was my lane because I was so passionate about this space, and I didn't know that it existed for me," she said. "It changed my life."

Today, as a physician who is double board-certified in family medicine and obesity medicine, she runs two practices as the medical director of both Families First Medical Group and Limitless Me Wellness, where she is committed to helping patients while reducing obesity bias and weight stigma.

A Better Advocate for Patients

Since entering the field of obesity medicine, Dr. Mitchell shares that the increase in research has transformed the way she approaches care.

“Having more research in the last five or six years has opened up such amazing experiences for me as a provider,” she said.

It has changed the way Dr. Mitchell listens to and advocates for patients. She now has a better understanding of the challenges that her patients face every day.

She believes that while obesity medicine is the answer to many other chronic diseases, it is still a field many clinicians know very little about.

“The obesity medicine space is such an interesting part of medicine. [It] is less studied, but it really is the impetus for so many chronic diseases that we don’t even think about.”

Helping patients treat obesity often leads to improvements beyond just weight loss. She celebrates patients lowering their cholesterol, eliminating diabetes medications, or decreasing the risk of certain cancers.

“Giving them the idea that weight loss can even improve that risk—it makes people really excited about what else they can do.”

Celebrating more than Weight Loss

For Dr. Mitchell, some of the most meaningful victories happen beyond the scale and the exam room.

She remembers one patient who had stopped taking family vacations because of their weight. After working with Dr. Mitchell for a year, they were able to go to Disneyland with their family, a trip they never thought possible.

"When you are a provider, that's what we go into this for," she said. "It's to change people's lives and have them see possibilities, and that becomes a game-changer."

Those moments remind her that obesity treatment is about restoring opportunities, confidence, and quality of life for patients.

Leading Patients by Example

Dr. Mitchell believes one of the best ways to connect with patients is by showing them that healthy habits don’t have to be complicated.

As a mother of four children, she understands how busy life can get.

She often shares examples from her own life, whether it's preparing quick, nutritious meals for her family or finding simple ways to incorporate movement into her schedule.

"I use myself as an example because I think it’s important to know that there are things that you can do that don’t necessarily have to be as complicated as we make it.”

She also encourages patients to foster their mental health, just as they do their physical health. That includes being intentional about self-talk, practicing affirmations and permitting themselves to have difficult days without seeing them as failures.

Fighting for Better Access

While obesity medicine has made tremendous progress, Dr. Mitchell believes patients still face unnecessary barriers to care. One of the biggest challenges, she says, is that obesity is still not consistently recognized and treated like other chronic diseases.

"I don’t have the same roadblock with my patients with asthma who need inhalers,” she said. They don’t receive the same criticism about their disease. “It’s not like, ‘They’re wheezing because they're not trying hard enough to breathe.'"

Dr. Mitchell believes patients with obesity deserve the same understanding.

“My patients that are living with obesity deserve the same consideration and the same availability for treatment, whether it's medication, going to a physical therapist, or other resources.”

She shares that many of her patients arrive after many attempts to address obesity on their own.

"It’s not necessarily that my patients haven't tried everything when they come in—they have. They have tried every single thing.”

Often, what stands in the way for many of these patients is access. Insurance denials and limited coverage continue to prevent many patients from receiving proper treatment.

"It’s very difficult when you find these roadblocks to get things approved because somebody decided that these patients don’t deserve what is available.”

Turning Education into Action

Beyond caring for patients, Dr. Mitchell is advocating for how the world understands the disease of obesity.

She serves on both the OMA’s Communications & Media Committee and its Global Access & Inclusion Committee, helping to educate other clinicians and the public about obesity as a chronic disease.

Through these committees, Dr. Mitchell has stepped outside of her comfort zone by participating in interviews and other media opportunities.

“It has been very scary but very rewarding,” she said.

She sees educating others on the disease as more important than ever.

"Right now, we’re combating a lot of misconceptions and misinformation with pseudoscience and social media influencers."

This perspective has inspired Dr. Mitchell to become even more involved in advocacy, especially within her own community.

She is currently working with local businesses, hospitals, and even the mayor’s office in Jacksonville, FL, to organize a World Obesity Day celebration, with the hopes of bringing the community together to recognize the disease and the field of obesity medicine positively.

She also hopes to become involved with the OMA's Advocacy Committee in the future.

What began as an unexpected discovery on social media has become Dr. Mitchell's life's work. Today, she is not only helping patients improve their health and quality of life but also advocating for greater awareness of obesity as a chronic disease and to reduce stigma.

As OMA celebrates Member Appreciation Month, Dr. Mitchell is a reminder that sometimes your path in life will find you. Through compassionate care, education, advocacy, and celebrating the little wins with her patients, Dr. Mitchell is creating a safer and more accepting world for patients with obesity.