FAQ

Common questions, answered straight

Straight, educational answers with no sales pitch. For anything about your individual health, please talk with your own physician.

What is concierge primary care?

Concierge primary care is a membership-based model in which a physician deliberately keeps a small panel of patients so each one gets real time and attention. In practice it means longer visits, same-day or next-day availability, direct access to your own doctor rather than a call center, and a focus on prevention and long-term health instead of seven-minute problem visits.

How is this practice different from a regular doctor’s office?

Three ways: you see the same physician every time, visits are unhurried, and you can reach your doctor directly between visits. The practice also carries an unusual extra credential: board certification in obesity medicine alongside internal medicine, so metabolic health and weight can be managed inside your primary care rather than referred out.

Is obesity really a disease?

Yes. The American Medical Association formally recognized obesity as a disease in 2013, and major medical organizations worldwide agree. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing condition driven by hormonal signaling, genetics, and environment, not by a lack of willpower, and it responds to medical treatment the way other chronic diseases do.

What is an obesity medicine physician?

An obesity medicine physician is a doctor with focused training in the biology and treatment of obesity as a chronic disease. Rather than handing out generic diet advice, they perform a full medical evaluation, treat related conditions like diabetes and sleep apnea, and use every evidence-based tool: nutrition, behavioral support, medications, and referral for surgery when appropriate.

How do GLP-1 medications work?

GLP-1 medications mimic a natural gut hormone (glucagon-like peptide-1) that your body releases after eating. They slow stomach emptying, improve insulin function, and, most importantly, act on appetite centers in the brain to reduce hunger and quiet constant thoughts about food. In clinical trials, people taking these medications alongside lifestyle changes lost substantially more weight than with lifestyle changes alone.

What happens at a first obesity medicine visit?

A good first visit is mostly conversation and evaluation, not prescriptions. Expect a detailed history of your weight over time, a review of your medical conditions and medications (some medications promote weight gain), screening for related conditions such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease, and laboratory testing. Treatment options come after the evaluation, as a shared decision.

Why is it so hard to keep weight off after losing it?

When you lose weight, your body responds as if it were starving: hunger hormones rise, fullness hormones fall, and metabolism slows more than expected for your new size. This biological defense of the previous weight, not weak discipline, is why most diets end in regain. It is also why obesity medicine treats weight as a long-term medical condition rather than a short-term project.

Do I need to have tried dieting before seeing an obesity medicine doctor?

No. Obesity is a medical condition, and you do not need to “earn” medical care for it by failing diets first. That said, most patients arrive having tried many approaches; that history is clinically useful, and it is reviewed with curiosity, never judgment.

Is BMI a good measure of health?

BMI is a useful screening tool at the population level but a crude one for individuals; it cannot distinguish muscle from fat or say where fat is stored, which matters greatly for health. Good obesity care looks past BMI to body composition, waist circumference, metabolic labs, and conditions like high blood pressure or prediabetes to judge actual health risk.

Are anti-obesity medications safe to take long-term?

Modern anti-obesity medications are approved for long-term use, and because obesity is a chronic disease, long-term treatment is often appropriate; stopping medication commonly leads to weight regain, just as stopping blood pressure medication lets blood pressure rise. Every medication has side effects and isn’t right for everyone, which is why ongoing physician supervision matters.

Can obesity treatment help my diabetes, blood pressure, or heart disease?

Often, yes. Meaningful weight loss can improve blood sugar control, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, reduce sleep apnea severity, and lower the risk of cardiovascular events; some patients are able to reduce other medications as treatment progresses. This is why obesity care should be coordinated with your overall medical care, not run separately from it.

Will you tell me to just eat less and move more?

No. “Eat less, move more” describes an energy balance, not a treatment plan, and as medical advice for a chronic disease, it fails patients. You can expect an honest, individualized plan built from real tools: nutrition strategy, behavioral support, medications where appropriate, and follow-up that adjusts as your body responds.