Real-World Decisions: Implementing Disease-Modifying Obesity Therapy in Primary Care
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11m 26s
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9m 28s
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10m 43s
Part of New Horizons in Obesity Management, this expert-led, primary care-focused symposium features three case-based discussions delivering practical strategies for GLP-1 receptor agonists, dual incretins and lifestyle integration, translating clinical trial data into everyday clinical practice.
Chaired by Prof Richard Hobbs (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), the global faculty panel includes Dr Sean Wharton (Wharton Medical Clinic, Ontario, Canada), Dr Lydia Alexander (Enara Health, San Mateo, USA), and Dr Helen Parretti (Beccles Medical Centre, Beccles, UK). The faculty address treatment initiation and referral timing, cost considerations and specialist coordination, helping clinicians build confidence in early intervention, patient motivation and multidisciplinary care to transform front-line CKM management.
Following each case presentation, the faculty discuss patient presentation, navigating competing priorities, practical treatment initiation, alignment with evolving guidelines, escalation strategies, framing obesity as a chronic disease, and reinforcing sustainable behaviour change. The panel also addresses audience questions and conclude with a practical takeaway - one thing they would do tomorrow in clinical practice.
Access the full session on demand to stay at the forefront of obesity and CKM care.
Key Learning Objectives
- Recognise obesity as a chronic disease and discuss its role in CKM diseases
- Interpret current evidence for pharmacologic therapies
- Discuss effective communication strategies to engage patients in discussion about weight
- Apply evidence-based approaches to starting on or referring patients for obesity therapies in primary care settings
- Integrate obesity care into MDT CKM pathways
Target Audience
- Primary Care Physicians
More from this programme
Part 1
Case 1: Obesity with Diabetes and Emerging CKM Risk
Dr Sean Wharton introduces the first case, followed by a panel discussion on management strategies and how to navigate competing priorities in a 10-minute consultation.
Part 2
Case 2: Obesity Without Diabetes but High CV Risk
Dr Lydia Alexander presents the second case, followed by a panel discussion on evolving guidelines and conversations around patient expectations.
Part 3
Case 3: Post Initiation, Monitoring, Response and Escalation
Dr Helen Parretti presents the final case, followed by a panel discussion on personalised patient choices and patient priorities.
Part 4
Audience Questions and Panel Discussion
The symposium concludes with an engaging panel discussion and a live Q&A with the audience, chaired by Prof Richard Hobbs, followed by a 30-second reflection from each faculty member on what they would change in their clinical practice tomorrow.
Faculty Biographies
Richard Hobbs
Professor and Head of Primary Care Health Services
Richard Hobbs is Professor and Head of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, UK. He is Co-Director of the Quality and Outcomes Review Panel and Deputy Director of the National Institute for Health Research National School for Primary Care Research.
Prof Hobbs serves on numerous scientific boards and is chair of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council of Primary Care, as well as the Prevention and Care Board of the British Heart Foundation (BHF). His publications include 25 book chapters, nine edited books and more than 250 original papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Sean Wharton
Dr Sean Wharton is an internal medicine specialist, obesity medicine expert, and advocate for health equity. He is the Medical Director of the Wharton Medical Clinic a community-based weight management and diabetes clinic in Ontario, Canada, and serves as a faculty member at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and York University.
Dr Wharton is widely recognised as a lead author of Canada's 2020 Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, which helped redefine obesity as a chronic disease and promoted patient-centered care. His research and clinical work focus on obesity management, type 2 diabetes, bariatric medicine, and reducing weight bias in healthcare.
Lydia Alexander
Chief Medical Officer
Dr Lydia Alexander is Chief Medical Officer at Enara Health in San Mateo, California. Dr Alexander earned her medical degree at the UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California; then completed an internal medicine residency at Kaiser Permanente, followed by a chief residency at Kaiser Hospital, both in California. She is trained as a culinary medicine specialist from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr Alexander is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
Dr Alexander is Past President of the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA). She was a co-led in the creation of OMA’s speakers bureau and has been highly involved in the work of several OMA committees and subcommittees. Dr Alexander’s research has been published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine and in Obesity Pillars. She…
Helen Parretti
Dr Helen Parretti is a GP at the Beccles Medical Centre in Suffolk, UK. Dr Parretti is a clinical academic and researcher with an interdisciplinary background spanning chemistry and medicine. She holds an MA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, a PhD in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Birmingham, and an MBBS from St George’s, University of London, alongside an MSc with Distinction in Clinical Primary and Community Care.
Her research interests are in obesity and primary care. Her research is focussed on improving the care of people living with obesity, in particular within primary care settings, with particular expertise in the long term care of patients who have had bariatric surgery. In addition to conducting clinical trials, Helen has completed several qualitative studies, systematic reviews and studies using routine GP data.