Movement
Intentional movement that's right for your age, your stage, and your body.
Obesity Is a Disease
Your weight was never the whole story.
Obesity is a chronic disease. It is not a character flaw, a lifestyle choice, or proof of anything about your willpower.
A gentler truth
You have probably tried harder than anyone gives you credit for.
If you have spent years believing your weight is something you did to yourself, something a little more discipline could have fixed, we want to gently push back on that. The story that it was ever completely within your control was never the whole story.
Obesity is a highly prevalent chronic disease that presents a risk to health and requires lifelong care. Recognizing that does not mean effort does not matter. It means the effort was never happening on a level playing field.
That distinction changes how you treat the disease and how you talk to yourself while you do.
Read the medical consensus statement (opens in a new tab)It is not just willpower
Many systems shape body weight.
Biology and lived environment work together. Some factors can work against a person no matter how disciplined they are.
Body-weight regulation
Your long-term health
Treating obesity protects more than weight.
Obesity may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, joint problems, and high blood pressure. It can also take a real toll on mental health and self-esteem.
Managing the disease with an appropriate care plan can improve health and reduce risk. Treatment should fit the person, their history, and their goals.
Explore NIDDK guidance (opens in a new tab)A full toolbox
Treatment is more than “diet harder” or surgery.
There is no one-size-fits-all plan. Obesity care can draw from several kinds of support, often in combination. In BariNation, we call these our Pillars of Bariatric Success- Movement, Mindset, Metabolic Wellness, and Community™
Mindset
Learning how to change our beliefs and truths be be aligned to whats true- obesity is a disease, not a decision.
Metabolic Wellness
Looking beyond the scale, choosing foods that fuel us, and focusing on metabolic health markers that matter.
Community
The missing support system that teaches you how to treat, manage, and fight obesity, even on your hardest days.
Other clinical tools
Depending on a person’s health and history, care may also include obesity-modifying medications like a GLP-1, endoscopic or minimally invasive procedures, and metabolic or bariatric surgery and revisional surgery. Individualized care ensures individualized treatments.
The best first step
Talk with a doctor, clinician, or practitioner trained in obesity care.
Ask your primary care provider for a referral or look for a doctor who specializes in obesity medicine. These clinicians are trained to treat obesity as the complex, chronic disease it is.
Making an appointment does not commit you to treatment. It simply opens a conversation about your health. You do not need to have it figured out before you arrive. You just need to show up.
Find an obesity specialist (opens in a new tab)Resources to learn more
Keep asking good questions.
Start with trusted medical organizations, then bring what you learn to a qualified healthcare professional.
Understand the disease
Explore treatment
Hear the conversations
Listen to patients and experts talk honestly about shame, metabolic health, weight recurrence, and treatment.
Explore the podcast
You belong here
Find your communityYou are not lazy. You are not broken.
You are living with a disease that has real treatment and real hope attached to it.