Overview

By 2030, nearly half of all U.S. adults are projected to be obese, and by 2050, one in three children worldwide will be affected. This growing crisis is not simply a matter of personal choice but a complex, multifactorial condition with profound health and economic consequences. Obesity is a major driver of cardiometabolic disease, cancer, respiratory conditions, neurocognitive decline, and fertility challenges, contributing to an estimated $173 billion in annual healthcare costs. Despite its prevalence, individuals with obesity often face stigma, delays in care, and inadequate treatment. Research indicates that physicians may spend less time with patients who are obese and often lack familiarity with evolving clinical guidelines.

Needs Assessment

As research and clinical practice advance, so does our understanding of obesity and its treatment. This course explores the latest developments in integrative obesity care, incorporating updated diagnostic classifications, emerging pharmacologic therapies, and holistic treatment approaches. The integrative medicine approach to obesity emphasizes evidence-based clinical strategies while also encouraging critical reflection on biases, challenging outdated perceptions of obesity as solely a behavioral issue.

After completing this course, you will gain a deeper understanding of obesity as a complex medical condition rather than a matter of personal choice. It will prompt you to examine your own perspectives and assumptions, equipping you with the evidence-based knowledge and integrative tools needed to provide more effective and compassionate care.

Learning Objectives

• Incorporate into practice knowledge of the epidemic and rising prevalence of obesity in both adult and pediatric populations.
• Examine your own attitudes towards obesity, and develop an understanding that obesity is not a personal choice.
• Counsel patients on the multifactorial causes of obesity, including lifestyle, genetics, gut microbiome, drugs, and environment.
• Incorporate into practice knowledge of the different diagnoses of obesity along with its measurements, such as BMI, percent body fat, and body composition.
• Employ evidence-based integrative treatments that include not only nutrition and exercise but also East Asian Medicine, mind body therapies and supplements.
• Counsel patients that obesity is associated with changes in normal physiology that increases the risk for many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular, metabolic, and rheumatological diseases.
• Advocate for the involvement of communities, schools, government and industry to help solve the obesity epidemic.
• Review the statistics, comorbidities and contributing risk factors of obesity in the pediatric population.
• Clinically evaluate obesity in children.
• Utilize integrative medicine modalities to treat pediatric obesity.

Target Audience

This course is designed for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals who seek to expand their expertise in integrative obesity management. With significant new content, including updated clinical guidelines and emerging therapies, it provides a fresh perspective on an increasingly urgent issue—making it valuable even for those who completed the previous edition.

Curriculum

• Introduction & Basics
• Morbidity and Mortality
• Obesity Determination and Clinical Evaluation
• Sarcopenic Obesity
• Multifactorial Causes
• Nutrition and Diet
• Nutraceuticals for Weight Loss
• Exercise and Obesity
• Mind-Body Interventions
• East Asian Medicine
• Anti-Obesity Medications
• Surgical and Endoscopic Bariatric Procedures
• Weight Loss Maintenance
• Current Statistics
• Comorbidities
• Contributing Risk Factors
• Clinical Evaluation of the Child with Obesity
• Integrative Approaches to Childhood Obesity
• Patient Waiting Room
• Course Exam

Completion Requirements

Complete all the course work, course evaluation, and the final test with a score of 70% or better. Upon successful completion you will be able to print your certificate of completion.