COURSE CURRICULUM
HOW TO STRUCTURE AN OBESITY PRACTICE
This seminar will include both practical and structural advice on how to structure an obesity practice. This will include what scale to buy office chairs and will also include what handouts and patient information to use.
BILLING FOR OBESITY
How do you bill for obesity in a family practice setting in Canada? Here are the tips and some practical models.
PHYSIOLOGY OF OBESITY
Remember that energy balance is a "metabolic dance” between our brains and our digestive tracts and our storage systems. GUT, BRAIN AND BODY so to speak. In this section we will review the physiology of energy regulation, hunger, satiety and what drives us to eat.
PHYSIOLOGY OF OBESITY PART 1 – THE HUNGRY BRAIN
A lesson in physiology of hunger and satiety and how this relates to the pathophysiology of obesity. This will include a review of the neurohormonal mediators of weight management and obesity. A review of the neurotransmitters in particular will be discussed. The focus of the first part of this session will be on the hypothalamus and its mediators of appetite and energy metabolism as well as the mesolimbic system which mediates the hedonistic response to food.
PHYSIOLOGY OF OBESITY PART 2 – GUT and BODY
Continued discussion on the pathophysiology of obesity. This will focus on physiology and pathophysiology from the point of view of gut hormones, adipose tissue hormones and the connection between adipose tissue, neurotransmitters and the gut.
PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR OBESITY – PRESENT DAY
Looking at the current landscape of pharmacotherapy in North America. This will include drug approved in Canada and the USA with a focus on what is currently available in Canada and what is coming to Canada. Will include indications and contraindications for each medication.
PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR OBESITY – FURTURE DRUGS
Looking at what agents are “coming down the pipe”- including GLP-1 Analogues, GOAT and other neurohormonal agents.
BARIATRIC SURGERY- PRE-OP SCREENING
How do we screen patients for bariatric surgery? What things to look for? This will include indications and contraindications for surgery and how to best prepare patients for surgery?
BARIATRIC SURGERY- POST-OP MANAGEMENT
What to watch for after bariatric surgery? This session will give us a focus on how to best manage patients who have had both a sleeve gastrectomy and roux en y gastric bypass. A focus on nutritional support, clinical follow up and laboratory testing and timing will be discussed as well.
MOTIVATIONAL COMMUNICATION
These sessions are likely best done with a partner. Motivational communication is something that we learn best when we are doing it. The theory and practice behind this mode of communication is highlighted with some hands on “activities” to do in practice. We have broken down these videos into small exercises in order to make them easier for learning and practicing.
BINGE EATING DISORDER
This is the most common eating disorder we have. It affects 2% of the population. 30% of patient who present for the treatment of obesity have Binge Eating Disorder. 70% of patients with Binge Eating Disorder don’t have Obesity. There is treatment for this. We review the pathophysiology and treatment of Binge Eating Disorder.
WEIGHT BIAS
Fat shaming is the last socially acceptable prejudice we have. It is as prevalent in our profession as in our every day society. It is wrong on so many levels and it impairs a patient’s ability to seek proper care. Weight bias has significant social, clinical and physiological ramifications. We review those here and give practical guidance on how to identify weight bias in your practice and in others and how to stop it.
THE DIET FIX- NAVIGATING THE COMMERCIAL DIET WORLD
This session will address the numerous programs in mainstream society and explain them. As clinicians, we need to know what our patients are being exposed to in the dieting world in order to better inform their decisions and treatments. This session will be an overview of commercial programs from Keto to Plant based and everything in between. We will also review the evidence (if present) for each of the programs.
CARBOHYDRATE COUNTING IN THE MODERN WORLD
Lower carbohydrate programs have been shown to improve insulin resistance and lead to weight loss in certain patient populations. For many patients “low carb” is too strict. Instead we will provide a comprehensive framework for how to teach patients to “carb count” in order to provide them with a framework to reduce the sugars in their diets.