Visit the exhibitors and explore the latest technologies, products, and services available to enhance and improve your practice.

Details coming soon!

The regulatory systems that affect obesity are complex and involve both peripheral and central components. Existing therapeutic options for obesity management often target one or more of these underlying mechanisms. The utilization of complementary therapies – an approach commonly used in other metabolic diseases – is an under-researched but evolving field in obesity management. The goal of this session will be to explore the present data for complementary dual or triple therapy in obesity management.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the mechanistic differences and potentially. complementary pathways for anti-obesity therapies.
2. Review and evaluate the existing data for combination therapy for pharmacologic and device interventions.
3. Review and evaluate the existing data for combination therapy for surgical interventions.

This lecture will discuss the evaluation and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a case-based format. The role of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of the disease will be briefly reviewed in addition to associated co-morbidities. The evaluation of a patient with suspected    NAFLD will be discussed, including ruling out other causes of fatty liver, addressing metabolic co-morbidities, and risk stratification NAFLD (i.e assessing for advanced fibrosis). Treatment strategies focused on liver health will also be addressed including the role of lifestyle and weight loss, medications (including metformin, pioglitazone, vitamin E, and emerging roles of semaglutide), and the utility of bariatric surgery. The session will also cover when it would be appropriate to refer to a specialist.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the key role insulin resistance has on the development of NAFLD.
2. Evaluate patients with NAFLD with practical tools that will allow to risk stratify their liver disease and know when to refer to a specialist.
3. Treat patients with NAFLD with an emphasis on modifying their metabolic risk factors that will have an impact on liver disease even in the absence of weight loss.
4. Identify medications that can be used in the treatment of NAFLD.

This session will provide an overview of binge eating and its impact on weight outcomes, teach attendees how to assess for binge eating and to differentiate between binge eating and other problematic eating behaviors, and provide practical strategies for treating binge eating disorder including evidenced-based behavioral treatment and pharmacotherapy. Attendees will learn how to approach binge eating from a cognitive-behavioral perspective, and when to refer for more intensive intervention

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate binge eating disorder from other eating disorders and problematic eating behaviors.
2. Describe the cognitive-behavioral approach to treating binge eating disorder.
3. Name at least one pharmacological treatment for binge eating disorder.
4. Differentiate between patients who will benefit from brief treatment for binge eating disorder, versus those who require more intensive psychiatric treatment.

OMA Members Only

Details coming soon!

Take in the architecture of Chicago as you explore the city on a fast-paced walk led by one of our physical activity experts. Learn different body weight and resistance band exercises you can teach to your patients.

Visit the exhibitors and explore the latest technologies, products, and services available to enhance and improve your practice. Meet with exhibitors, try samples, and discover new tools to use when treating patients with obesity.

STEP, The First of Many Steps Toward the Future of Obesity Pharmacotherapy – Robert Kushner, MD

Description:  The Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with Obesity (STEP) Trials have been described as a game-changer for obesity care. In this presentation, Dr. Kushner will review the efficacy and safety outcomes of the 4 STEP trials and their importance for patient care. Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the four STEP trials investigating the efficacy and safety of semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly injection
2. Describe the benefits of weight loss on the measured cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life measures
3. Explain the importance of the behavior-drug interface for antiobesity medications

Visit the exhibitors and explore the latest technologies, products, and services available to enhance and improve your practice. Meet with exhibitors, try samples, and discover new tools to use when treating patients with obesity.

Management of obesity in diabetes is not exclusive to those who have type 2 diabetes. There is a growing prevalence of individuals with type 1 diabetes who also have obesity. Although guidelines for management in this special population are not robust. This lecture will present the current and best practices related to the management of obesity in individuals with type 1 diabetes. This patient population is specifically in search of appropriate exercise, nutrition, and medication guidance strategies that can effectively treat their obesity and not put their glycemic control at risk. This session will discuss specific data related to exercise recommendations and strategies for mitigating hypoglycemia, varied nutrition approaches, (including whether a ketogenic diet is appropriate in this setting) as well as the safety and efficacy of medications for obesity management such as amylin agonists, GLP-1RA, and SGLT2i in individuals who have type 1 diabetes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the prevalence of obesity in individuals with type 1 diabetes.
2. Provide recommendations for insulin dose adjustments after aerobic activity and resistance training.
3. Discuss how different nutrition approaches can affect glycemic control in someone with type 1 diabetes.
4. Demonstrate responsible use of pharmacotherapy for obesity management in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Pediatric Track Session Details coming soon! 

The Influence of Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Insulin resistance has become the world’s most common health disorders and Type 2 Diabetes is recognized as a leading killer in the United States. To understand T2DM, we need to understand insulin resistance, the true foundation of the disease. This talk will provide a basic and clinical definition of insulin resistance and explain the process whereby insulin resistance turns into type T2DM.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the two pillars of insulin resistance as hyperinsulinemia and compromised insulin signaling.
2. Learn the role of fat cell hypertrophy in the origins of insulin resistance.
3. Understand the role of the muscle, liver, and pancreas in the transition into type 2 diabetes from insulin resistance.

Pediatric Track Session Details coming soon! 

Older individuals with obesity are at risk for both the metabolic consequences of central abdominal obesity and the adverse effects of fat mass. Identifying obesity in elderly patients may be obscured by loss of lean body mass and adipose redistribution with aging, rendering BMI as a diagnostic marker less reliable. In this population, treatment options are often limited by coexisting medical conditions, lack of evidence for the benefits of obesity treatment interventions, and potential negative effects of weight loss on lean body mass, bone mineral density, and mortality. This lecture will address strategies to improve health and physical function in elderly patients with obesity while minimizing potential pitfalls.

Learning objectives:

1. Describe the consequences of obesity in older patients.
2. Identifying Obesity in Clinical Practice and the Limits of BMI as a measure in older adults.
3. Recognize the benefits of weight loss in older adults.
4. Develop a treatment plan that optimizes health and physical function and minimizes potential adverse consequences of weight loss in elderly individuals.
5.  

Obesity in pregnancy is extremely common and extremely difficult to treat. Furthermore, the downstream effects on mother and child are wide-reaching. As women’s healthcare milieu adapt to less frequent Pap testing, as well as other reductions in face to face care, awareness of these risks and identification of appropriate targets for mitigating risks is essential. This session will review the pregnancy risks associated with obesity and the complicated interplay of associated long-term risks from pregnancy conditions in the setting of long-term risks of obesity alone. Interactive components include generating diagnoses associated with risk, estimating long term risk, and then applying the data to these areas of potential misconception. Participants will leave the session with a better understanding of the complexity of risks as well as an understanding of the long-term multidisciplinary team needs for adequate care of women with obesity who have experienced pregnancy complications.

Learning Objectives:

1. List the long-term health risks associated with common pregnancy complications.
2. Identify the magnitude of increased risks of long-term pregnancy complication with concomitant obesity.
3. Describe appropriate methods and intervals for long term risk assessment for women with obesity and prior pregnancy complications.

Pediatric Track Session Details coming soon! 

Eating Disorders Post Bariatric Surgery – Abby Bleistein, MD Eating disorders are common in patients with obesity, and even more so in patients seeking medical or surgical care for obesity. The prevalence of disordered eating behavior in patients with overweight or obesity is 29% in women and 15% of men. Screening prior to bariatric surgery is meant to identify these disordered eating behaviors, however, not all programs require pre-operative screening for disordered eating, and often patients underreport symptoms in the screening process. Pre-operatively, binge eating disorder, night eating syndrome, food addiction, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED), and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) can be associated with obesity. Post-operatively, these conditions may continue, or may appear, as well as symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Using case examples to demonstrate the impact of eating disorders post bariatric surgery, we will review the current research on prevalence, complications, and treatment of eating disorders after bariatric surgery.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define criteria for eating disorders affecting patients with obesity seeking medical and surgical treatment.
2. Understand the prevalence of eating disorders in patients after bariatric surgery.
3. Conduct screening for eating disorders in patients seeking treatment for obesity.
4. Understand complications of eating disorders in patients after bariatric surgery.
5. Describe treatment for eating disorders prior to and after bariatric surgery.

Pediatric Track Session Details coming soon! 

The Satiety Index of Dieting – Justin Tondt, MD This session will discuss the concept of the “satiety index” of foods as well as go through case studies of implementing the “satiety index” with patients to achieve an ad-libitum calorie deficit.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the determinants of satiety as well as the strengths and limitations of the satiety index.
2. Analyze patients’ dietary history in terms of satiety index.
3. Construct meal plans to generate an ad libitum calorie deficit for patients.

Pediatric Track Session Details coming soon! 

Choose a table with a topic that interests you and spend breakfast discussing that topic with an expert and a small group of other clinicians.

*This event is worth 0.75 CME/CE credits. In addition to class sessions, attendance at this event is required to earn the full 17.5 CME/CE credits for the Fall Obesity Summit.

Break

The Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) is the clinical leader in obesity medicine.  In its 2021 update, the OMA Obesity Algorithm clarified the role of steps in meeting physical activity recommendations.  OMA also provided guidance regarding cut-off points in body composition analyses.  This session will describe these “rule changes,” and provide perspective how it influences the care of patients with obesity.  

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the clinical rationale behind the Obesity Medicine Association updates to classification of percent body fat
2. Apply the clinical rational behind the cut-off points for android and visceral fat
3. Implement the inclusion of steps in physical activity goals for patients having overweight or obesity

Break

To achieve safer and greater weight loss for greater number of participants, it is important to effectively manage patient care during the follow-up period, once a weight loss program is initiated. An effective continuity-care strategy can substantially influence patient compliance and outcome.  This session will present some common attributes of an effective follow-up plan based on scientific literature and long clinical experience.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the significance of weight loss-specific medical care during the follow up phase of a weight loss program.
2. Describe the action items for a provider at early, middle and late stage of follow up visits for weight loss.
3. Demonstrate a greater understanding of weight loss facts that patients need to increase compliance.

Clinical research into low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets over the past 20 years have shown repeatedly that a food-based well-formulated, ketogenic diet can be safe and effective for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. In the past few years, the internet has exploded with information about the keto diet with emphasis on sales of keto products. A brief update on clinical research about keto diets, and a survey of “internet keto” diet users will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the components of a well-formulated, real food based, ketogenic diet
2. Discuss the clinical studies supporting the use of a well-formulated ketogenic diet
3. Name 3 “great for keto diet” products that have not been clinically tested

Lunch

: Obesity and its associated comorbid conditions have reached epidemic levels world-wide. A lot of focus is often placed on geographic location, yet the ever-widening divide between different racial and socioeconomic populations are often conveniently left out of the discussion. This presentation will explore the varied impact of the obesity epidemic on populations of different ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds including the role of agricultural and food distribution Discussion includes how the limitations of the healthcare system affect the standard of care received by each group. Finally, recommendations for possible solutions at an individual, local, and systemic level will be provided.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify 3 categories of underserved patient populations.
2. Recognize 3 ways that you as a provider can help patients to overcome hurdles in gaining access in obtaining proper nutrition.
3. Utilize 3 ways that you as a provider can advocate for your patients on a national level

Break

This session will include a series of case presentations exploring medication options in specific patient scenarios. Each scenario presented will explore the different agents that could be used for the patient scenario and the rationale behind why and when certain medications are recommended over others. The program will conclude with an interactive discussion on each of these cases.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore the contributors to obesity in individual patients based upon the clinical presentation.
2. Identify concurrent medications that may contribute to weight gain or worsen obesity-related disease.
3. Prescribe or deprescribe medication based upon the clinical case scenario to optimize weight loss and improve or reverse obesity-related disease.