In this episode of the Active Action Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Evan Nadler, an international leader in child and adolescent obesity. Dr. Nadler discusses the critical nature of treating childhood obesity as a chronic disease, the concept of intergenerational transmission of obesity, and why aggressive treatment early on can significantly influence future health outcomes. The episode also covers the differences in the diagnosis and management of obesity between children and adults, the importance of individualized treatment plans, and tackles common concerns around bariatric surgery. Dr. Nadler reveals his insights and experiences from over two decades in the field, emphasizing the necessity of compassionate and comprehensive care for those suffering from obesity.
What You’ll Learn:
- What childhood obesity is and how it differs from adult obesity
- Why obesity is not just a lifestyle issue but often a genetically inherited disease
- How untreated childhood obesity leads to long-term health complications and impacts future generations
- Why Dr. Nadler believes childhood obesity treatment is the most effective prevention strategy
- What "aggressive treatment" means, including surgery and medication, and why it’s safer than most people think
- The societal and economic impact of untreated obesity
- Why there's so much stigma around obesity—and how that stigma stops people from seeking care
- How to access credible resources and supportive care options without shame
- A preview of Dr. Nadler’s participation in the Montreal Children’s Hospital Interdisciplinary Symposium on Pediatric Obesity
- Where to find Dr. Nadler’s educational content: www.obesityexplained.com and his YouTube channel
Be sure to check the webpage of Dr. Nadler at the Active Action Podcast Website to learn more about his work, and ways to connect with his.
Read a blog on this episode.
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- [00:00:00] - Episode highlights
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 My passion is obviously spreading the word about
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 childhood obesity and frankly, all obesity treatment
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 in any age group. The obesity is a chronic disease.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:17 And so it's not going away if you don't treat
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 it. And the complications of obesity are most
00:00:21 --> 00:00:27 easily reversed the younger you are and the shorter
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 duration you've had. a problem. So whatever ones
00:00:31 --> 00:00:35 need to do, they need to take action for sure.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:39 Now, sooner rather than later. But one of the
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 ways I think it really makes an impact is it
00:00:41 --> 00:00:45 discourages people from seeking care because
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 they're afraid of what the providers might say
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 or judge them. So I'm really hoping that by getting
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 the word out, we can make obesity care more accessible
00:00:55 --> 00:01:00 for all. I really encourage your audiences that
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 if you are indeed suffering from this condition,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:06 please feel free to seek out helper options that
00:01:06 --> 00:01:18 you would have. You're tuned into the Active
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00:01:52 --> 00:01:57 enjoy this episode. Hello, good evening, everyone.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 Welcome back to another episode of the Active
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00:02:49 --> 00:02:54 .shop. Today we have with us Dr. Evan Nadler
00:02:54 --> 00:02:58 and our topic for today's podcast is Childhood
00:02:58 --> 00:03:02 Obesity Treatment is the Best Obesity Prevention.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:06 Dr. Evan Nadler is an international leader in
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 the field of child and adolescent obesity. He
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 has served as co -director of the Children's
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 National Obesity Program and director of the
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 Child and Adolescent Weight Loss Journey Program.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 at Children's National Hospital from 2009 until
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 2023. He was also a tenured associate professor
00:03:27 --> 00:03:31 of surgery and pediatrics at the George Washington
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 Before moving to Washington, D .C., Dr. Evan
00:03:38 --> 00:03:42 was the director of minimally invasive pediatric
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 surgery at the New York University School of
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 Medicine, where he participated in the U .S.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Food and Drug Administration -approved studies
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 using laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding
00:03:54 --> 00:03:58 in adolescents with obesity. His current pursuits
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 include pediatric obesity treatment program development,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 authoring a book on obesity, and his startup
00:04:05 --> 00:04:09 company focused on adipocyte signaling via exosomes.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 Dr. Nadler has authored multiple publication
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 and textbook chapters on the topic of pediatric
00:04:16 --> 00:04:20 bariatric surgery. and was one of the founding
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 members of the childhood obesity community of
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 the American Pediatric Surgery Association. Thank
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 you so much, Dr. Nadler, for joining today's
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 podcast. We are very excited to have you and
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 to know from you about childhood obesity and
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 hear your words of wisdom. So would you like
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 to introduce yourself very briefly to our audiences?
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 Sure. Well, first, I want to thank you for having
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 me, Nasif. It's my pleasure to be here. My passion
00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 is obviously spreading the word about childhood
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 obesity and frankly, all obesity treatment in
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 any age group. And you should certainly call
00:04:56 --> 00:05:00 me Evan, or if you want to, Dr. Evan, but certainly
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 Dr. Nadler is more formal than you need to be.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 I've been doing this a long time. I've been doing
00:05:04 --> 00:05:08 weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery or metabolic
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 and bariatric surgery, depending on what you
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 want to call it, for over 20 years, long before.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 The national dialogue even included bariatric
00:05:18 --> 00:05:22 surgery for children. So we've come a long way.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 There's still tons of work to do. I'm hoping
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 that with platforms like yours and getting the
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 word out to as many people as possible, we can
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 change the national dialogue. So I was talking
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 about the U .S. because obviously I'm based in
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 the U .S., but it's a world problem. It's a North
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 American problem. It's a South American problem.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 It's an everywhere problem. And so I'm hoping
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 to help sort of change the narrative so that
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 people who suffer from the disease of obesity
00:05:51 --> 00:05:55 can get access to comprehensive and compassionate
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 care. Thank you so much for that wonderful introduction,
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 Dr. Nadler. And I 100 % agree with you that obesity
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 is indeed one of the most major concerns that
00:06:05 --> 00:06:09 is visible, not only in North America, but also
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 in many other different parts of the world. Childhood
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 obesity is also a very concerning thing at this
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 moment that we are seeing from the current trends.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 On that note, I wanted to start with you with
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 a question about childhood obesity. So can you
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 kindly explain to our listeners what is childhood
00:06:26 --> 00:06:32 obesity and how is it different? Sure. Obviously,
00:06:32 --> 00:06:36 obesity is a disease that people think they can
00:06:36 --> 00:06:41 sort of diagnose themselves from. just looking
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 at someone or looking in the mirror, they're
00:06:44 --> 00:06:49 talking about themselves. And that's only partially
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 the case because there's actually strict definition
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 for what meets the criteria of the diagnosis
00:06:55 --> 00:07:00 of obesity. And an adult, it's a BMI over 30.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 In kids, it has a slightly different definition
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 because we take into account. the age of the
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 child, the gender of the child, and then compare
00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 it to other children in their same age and gender
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 because children are growing. So it's slightly
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 different than using strict BMI. But what makes
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 childhood obesity really different is that it
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26 is what I consider a purer form of the disease,
00:07:26 --> 00:07:31 meaning children with obesity haven't been on
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 this earth that long. So it limits the... degree
00:07:36 --> 00:07:41 of sort of environmental impact there is on their
00:07:41 --> 00:07:45 disease. They haven't been necessarily around
00:07:45 --> 00:07:51 long enough to eat fast food every day for 10
00:07:51 --> 00:07:55 years or 20 years. And then the coincidence with
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 that, or at the same time, not only is it the
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 purest form of the disease, but it's actually
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 a more aggressive form of the disease. So insulin
00:08:02 --> 00:08:07 resistance will progress to diabetes more quickly
00:08:07 --> 00:08:11 in children than it does in adults. And so it's
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 really a very unique subset of the disease of
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 obesity that requires, in my mind, actually the
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 most aggressive treatment because if you're a
00:08:22 --> 00:08:26 child with obesity and don't get it treated,
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 you are almost certain to go on to adulthood
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 with that disease and the damage it does on your
00:08:32 --> 00:08:36 organs or your cells. It's cumulative over time.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 It's almost like pack years of smoking. Not just
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 how heavy you are, it's how long you've been
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 at that weight that really sort of sets you up
00:08:45 --> 00:08:50 for metabolic diseases. Thank you so much, Dr.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 Nadler, for wonderfully explaining that. And
00:08:52 --> 00:08:57 I 100 % agree with you that obesity is a condition,
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 but that condition actually leads to many diseases
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 and it can actually be connected. it might be
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 the aggravator for many other conditions as well.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:09 I wanted to ask you one thing for out of my curiosity,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 for when we talk about childhood obesity, we
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 often hear the phrase that obesity can be genetical.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 It might be like passed down from the family.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 Is that the case at all? So yeah, in fact, not
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 only is it the case at all, it's probably the
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 predominant reason why children get obesity.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 There's a term that's really not talked about
00:09:33 --> 00:09:37 and not in my mind, which is called the intergenerational
00:09:37 --> 00:09:41 transmission of obesity. And it's a lot of words,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:45 but what it means is that obesity can be passed
00:09:45 --> 00:09:51 on from parents to kid. And in fact, studies
00:09:51 --> 00:09:57 have shown that about 50 % of obesity is inherited.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 So that means only about 50 % is under your control.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:05 And I would say in children, it's even less likely
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 that they have 50 % of their disease that's under
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 their control. A lot of it is not only the genes
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 that are passed on to you from your mother and
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 father, but also the contribution of the environment
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 as a fetus that you're developing in. So the
00:10:20 --> 00:10:24 maternal environment, the maternal health, maternal
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 obesity or maternal diabetes or gestational diabetes
00:10:29 --> 00:10:34 really impact the risk. of both obesity and diabetes
00:10:34 --> 00:10:38 in that unborn child when they're born? We are
00:10:38 --> 00:10:42 talking about childhood obesity. And when we
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 talk about obesity, we understand it can happen
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 at any time, not only at childhood, but also
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 in adulthood as well. But often we take the prism
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 of childhood obesity to actually viewing all
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 obesity and understand what is the best path
00:10:56 --> 00:11:00 forward. So I want to ask you, Why do you think
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 viewing all obesity through the childhood obesity
00:11:03 --> 00:11:08 prism is the best path forward? Yeah, so it goes
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 back to what I was saying before in that childhood
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 obesity is pure, so we can really investigate
00:11:14 --> 00:11:19 the genetic contributions to obesity. And it's
00:11:19 --> 00:11:23 also aggressive, so we can measure outcomes of
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 what we do more quickly in children than we can
00:11:27 --> 00:11:31 in adults. Most adults who have obesity in the
00:11:31 --> 00:11:35 United States, it's 140 million adults with obesity.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:39 Not 140 million children had obesity. So there
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 are enough 14 million children who have obesity.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 So most adults did not have childhood obesity,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:49 but their genetic predisposition to the disease
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 and the way, what they eat, how much they exercise.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 You know, microplastics and forever chemicals
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 and all the other things that are starting to
00:11:57 --> 00:12:01 come into play with respect to health. Those
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 things in adults have just taken longer to have
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 the impact that they have had in these children.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 Okay. Thank you for explaining that, Dr. Nadler.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:16 And just a few moments ago, you did mention about
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 intergenerational transmission of obesity. So
00:12:19 --> 00:12:23 can I ask you, how will obesity treatment in
00:12:23 --> 00:12:27 childhood prevent the intergenerational transmission
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 of obesity? It's a great question. And it's actually
00:12:30 --> 00:12:35 sort of the focus of, it's part of my book, but
00:12:35 --> 00:12:39 it's also a big focus in what I'm trying to educate
00:12:39 --> 00:12:43 people about. Because the obesity epidemic, you
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 know, nothing we've tried has sort of stopped
00:12:45 --> 00:12:50 the obesity epidemic. And I think that... treating
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 younger patients, children and young adults,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:57 for their obesity will be the one thing that
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 we can do that actually changes the trajectory
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 of the obesity epidemic. And the reason that
00:13:03 --> 00:13:08 is, is because if you treat, let's say, young
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 women or children, teenagers, for their obesity,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:16 when they have kids of their own, They can't
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 do anything about the genes that they have, but
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 now they've optimized that in utero environment.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:25 They've optimized what a fetus is seeing when
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 it's developing, which will help. And then the
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 other thing that happens is, you know, most of
00:13:31 --> 00:13:35 your dietary behavior is solidified between ages
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 like I've been 12 or something like that. So
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 if you're a five -year -old in a household where
00:13:41 --> 00:13:45 someone who has, is on medication or has had
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 surgery, to treat their own obesity, and both
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 parents, let's say, or one parent or the other,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 it doesn't matter, the behavior that that five
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 -year -old is being exposed to is much different.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 It's, you know, small meals. It's focusing on
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 protein. It's staying hydrated. And there's far
00:14:03 --> 00:14:07 less likelihood that that environment will include,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:12 you know, again, ultra -processed foods or other
00:14:12 --> 00:14:17 unhealthy items on a regular basis. Okay, thank
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 you so much for explaining that. And it's very
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 important to understand how to address obesity
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 because so many people are concerned nowadays
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 with this condition. So do you treat it? Can
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 you cure it? Can you maintain it? So many questions
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 and that needs to be answered. And I think it's
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 very important to understand what is the right
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 course of action for each individual because
00:14:39 --> 00:14:43 each individual's perspective and each individual's
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 situations is different from one another. So
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 it depends on person to person. Can you kindly
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 explain to our audience what is aggressive treatment
00:14:52 --> 00:14:56 of obesity and why is aggressive treatment of
00:14:56 --> 00:15:00 obesity, regardless of age, is the only way to
00:15:00 --> 00:15:04 curb the obesity epidemic? Well, first, I want
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 to go back to something that you said, because
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 it's very important, which is every individual
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 has their own perspective on the disease. And
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 also every individual will actually respond to
00:15:16 --> 00:15:23 obesity treatment differently. And so I don't,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 and you also said, I think you said the right
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 path, which I don't like to use that term because
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 for each person, it's a very individual choice.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:38 And I'm not here to mandate people do anything.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 I'm just here to sort of give the information
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 and present the facts and then help people come
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 to their own decision about what's best for them.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:51 I'm not trying to dictate to anyone that they
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 do any particular intervention. And even the
00:15:55 --> 00:16:00 fit at any size or healthy at any size movement,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:05 which is somewhat controversial, that also has
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 a role for people who can get their metabolic
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 health. improved or under wraps without the more
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 aggressive interventions. But going back to your
00:16:13 --> 00:16:18 original question, the reason I believe that
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 the aggressive treatment, which in this case
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 means either medications or surgery or both,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 is important is one, again, as I mentioned before,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 that it will help them when they have kids of
00:16:30 --> 00:16:34 their own. Two, it will model appropriate behavior
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 or healthy behavior when they have kids of their
00:16:37 --> 00:16:43 own. But also the obesity is a chronic disease.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:47 And so it's not going away if you don't treat
00:16:47 --> 00:16:52 it. And the complications of obesity are most
00:16:52 --> 00:16:57 easily reversed the younger you are and the shorter
00:16:57 --> 00:17:02 duration you've had the problem. There is really
00:17:02 --> 00:17:06 no medical rationale for delaying intervention.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 Obviously, if people aren't ready for it, when
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 I first started doing bariatric surgery on kids
00:17:11 --> 00:17:15 20 years ago, most of my patients were children
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 whose parents had had bariatric surgery because
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 they sort of understood the safety and efficacy
00:17:22 --> 00:17:26 of it. But lots of people, medical community
00:17:26 --> 00:17:30 as well, weren't ready to sort of embrace what
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 I was doing. So it took a long time and a lot
00:17:32 --> 00:17:36 of publishing my data, a lot of... publicizing
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 my data and talking to different physician groups,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:42 provider groups. Although now I've decided better
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 if I take the message directly to the public,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 directly to the consumer, as opposed to trying
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 to educate the medical societies. So I just,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 you know, again, it's just, it's a personal decision.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:57 If it's something you want to address, you need
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 to be able to find the people who are both willing
00:17:59 --> 00:18:04 and knowledgeable on how to address it. Thank
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 you so much, Dr. Nadler, for so wonderfully explaining
00:18:06 --> 00:18:10 for your rationale, for information purposes,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 why you think aggressive treatment is the best
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 way to approach obesity. I have a question for
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 you to follow up. Many who suffer from obesity,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:23 usually they don't prefer to do surgeries or
00:18:23 --> 00:18:27 have invasive procedures on them due to the fear
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 that it might create further complications or
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 they might face critical side effects from that.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 surgery. So I want to ask you for more clarity
00:18:36 --> 00:18:40 for my audiences. Do you think bariatric surgery
00:18:40 --> 00:18:44 or any other invasive procedures, as we term
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 them as aggressive treatment for obesity, has
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 too many side effects or can create complications
00:18:49 --> 00:18:54 for health? So for sure, any intervention, surgical
00:18:54 --> 00:18:59 or medication, can have side effects. The data
00:18:59 --> 00:19:04 are that for bariatric surgery or metabolic and
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 bariatric surgery, the complication rates are
00:19:06 --> 00:19:10 less than 1%. And in younger patients, those
00:19:10 --> 00:19:14 complication rates are even lower. So yeah, for
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 sure they can, but it's not that common. And
00:19:17 --> 00:19:21 just like with the advent of the GLP -1 medications
00:19:21 --> 00:19:25 like Glutide and Terzepatide, just like those
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 medications can cause abdominal pain or other
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 gastrointestinal side effects. Surgery can as
00:19:31 --> 00:19:36 well. So again, it's not that I'm telling people
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39 that you should have surgery. I just want people
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 to actually know the facts because if you are
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 talking about a surgery that has a complication
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 rate of less than 1%, that's actually lower than
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 a lot of surgeries that people just get without
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 even thinking twice about it. Bariatric surgery,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:59 and somewhat rightfully so, has had a bad reputation.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 Because when it first started, it did have a
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 pretty high complication rate, upwards of 10%.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:08 But those numbers have changed drastically over
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 the last basically 35 years since surgery has
00:20:11 --> 00:20:15 become more popular. For sure, for myself, I
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 can relate because I myself have the condition
00:20:18 --> 00:20:22 of obesity and it doesn't go away. The difficult
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 thing is it doesn't go away in one or two days.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 Dedication to the dieting. And the exercise needs
00:20:28 --> 00:20:32 is enormous for sure. You mentioned there is
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 no right or wrong way to do it. It's on individual's
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 choice. I think health comes above everything
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 else. If you really need something to take care
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 of, especially if it's your health, obesity actually
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 needs a lot of complications. So it's better
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 to do that as soon as possible. On that note,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:52 Dr. Nadler, I want to ask you a very general
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 question. Why do we have to care about obesity?
00:20:56 --> 00:21:01 Why is it so important? Yeah, well, I mean, I
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 could probably talk for hours about that one
00:21:03 --> 00:21:06 question, but the reason we should all care about
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 it, well, first of all, you should care about
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 it if 100, well, in the US, if 140 million of
00:21:12 --> 00:21:16 your peers or of your community has a disease,
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 you should care about it just as an empathizing
00:21:19 --> 00:21:23 human being. But even if you don't care necessarily
00:21:23 --> 00:21:27 about... people with the disease and their benefit
00:21:27 --> 00:21:31 or their suffering, I guess. It is an extremely
00:21:31 --> 00:21:35 costly condition. In the United States, it's
00:21:35 --> 00:21:39 thought to contribute about $1 trillion towards
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 the healthcare expenditures in our country. I
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 don't know the Canadian data, but I'm sure it's
00:21:45 --> 00:21:50 similarly large. There are so many people who
00:21:50 --> 00:21:54 are suffering from the disease because... We
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 just don't have the bodies that we might need.
00:21:56 --> 00:22:00 The point is that our workforce is diminished.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 There have been studies that show that people
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 with obesity, adults with obesity, don't have
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 the same economic productivity. They get passed
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 over for promotions at work. So there are actually
00:22:11 --> 00:22:16 lots of non -medical reasons why people should
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 care about this disease. I would prefer that
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 people care about the disease just because we
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 care about our fellow man or woman. But sometimes
00:22:24 --> 00:22:28 you have to make arguments that are fiscal to
00:22:28 --> 00:22:32 drive the point home. I fully agree with you,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:36 Dr. Nadler. And as you mentioned, it's never
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 late to think about why the condition is happening
00:22:39 --> 00:22:42 and how you can take care of yourself. But it's
00:22:42 --> 00:22:46 very important to think that if you have it,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 you need to address it more sooner rather than
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 later. And also you need to think about, as it
00:22:51 --> 00:22:54 might be passed on to generation, that you, your
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 family members, should not be affected with obesity.
00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 It's a very important thing to be reminded of.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 So whatever ones need to do, they need to take
00:23:04 --> 00:23:08 action for sure. Now, sooner rather than later.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:12 At this moment, I wanted to share with my audiences
00:23:12 --> 00:23:16 that Dr. Nadler will be participating in the
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 Montreal Children's Hospital. Interdisciplinary
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 Symposium on Pediatric Obesity Care on Wednesday,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:30 May 7th, 2025 from 12 p .m. to 6 p .m. at Dearest
00:23:30 --> 00:23:35 Sylvia and Richard Chris Auditorium. So if you
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 are interested to hear the speech of Dr. Nadler,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 please feel free to check that out. I just want
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 to say that there's also a virtual option. So
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 I believe... Very convenient. Yeah, I believe
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 that, I'm not 100 % sure, but I believe that
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 QR code that's on the screen there may be how
00:23:53 --> 00:23:56 you get the virtual option, but you don't have
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 to, you certainly don't have to attend in person.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 So, and I certainly invite all the listeners
00:24:00 --> 00:24:04 to join in because there will be, well, there's
00:24:04 --> 00:24:08 myself and another surgeon from the United States
00:24:08 --> 00:24:12 and actually a pediatrician from the United States.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 Everyone else is Canadian. And there's going
00:24:15 --> 00:24:20 to be a lot of discussion of what is new and
00:24:20 --> 00:24:25 different in Canada with respect to childhood
00:24:25 --> 00:24:28 obesity specifically, but also obesity in general.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 So I think it should be very informative. And
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 frankly, I'm excited to learn from some of my
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 colleagues from the North that I may not have
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 had the chance to learn from before. So it's
00:24:39 --> 00:24:43 exciting for me. Thank you so much, Dr. Nadler,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 for letting our audiences know about that conference.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 Dear audiences, I also wanted to share with you
00:24:48 --> 00:24:52 Dr. Ivan's website, obesityexplained .com. It's
00:24:52 --> 00:24:56 a wonderful resource to know about obesity and
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 learn many things about that. I personally got
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 some very helpful information. So I do encourage
00:25:01 --> 00:25:05 you to take a look at that as well. The address
00:25:05 --> 00:25:10 is www.obesityexplained.com. Apart from that,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 if you do have any questions for Dr. Nadler,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:19 feel free to check out his bio in our Active
00:25:19 --> 00:25:29 Action website at activeaction .fm. There is
00:25:29 --> 00:25:32 links for website and other contact information.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:36 So if you want to get in touch with Dr. Nadler,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 please. Feel free to do that. Definitely. I encourage
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 people to send me email questions if they have
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 them, because I'm happy to answer as best I can.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47 I also do want to pitch, though, my YouTube channel.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 Although the same videos or similar videos are
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 on my website as the YouTube channel, I could
00:25:52 --> 00:25:55 always use the subscribers on YouTube. So the
00:25:55 --> 00:25:58 shameless pitch. That's wonderful. And I think
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 that the YouTube channel is a wonderful way to
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 spread the message. I appreciate you sharing
00:26:03 --> 00:26:07 that. Dear audiences, Dr. Nadler's YouTube channel
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 will be in the description of this YouTube video.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 So if you do want to check that out, please do
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 and subscribe for more new updates. I really
00:26:15 --> 00:26:20 appreciate Dr. Nadler for your time this afternoon
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 with me and my audiences and sharing your wonderful
00:26:23 --> 00:26:26 words of wisdom. Oh, it's my pleasure. And honestly,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 I'll come back anytime. This is clearly my passion.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:33 And I just want people, I just want to be able
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 to help people. And really to help people help
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 themselves because I think there's so much shame
00:26:38 --> 00:26:42 and blame in the diagnosis or the disease of
00:26:42 --> 00:26:46 obesity, which is really hurtful in many ways.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 But one of the ways I think it really makes an
00:26:49 --> 00:26:52 impact is it discourages people from seeking
00:26:52 --> 00:26:55 care because they're afraid of what the providers
00:26:55 --> 00:26:59 might say or judge them. So I'm really hoping
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 that by getting the word out, we can make obesity
00:27:02 --> 00:27:07 care more accessible. for all. And that is the
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 note I actually want to end this podcast with,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:13 how Dr. Nadler said, making the treatment accessible
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 to all. And I really encourage your audiences
00:27:16 --> 00:27:19 that if you are indeed suffering from this condition,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:22 please feel free to seek out helper options that
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 you would have. It's better to take the action
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 sooner. Thank you so much, Dr. Nadler, again
00:27:27 --> 00:27:30 for joining today's podcast, and I really appreciate
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 it. The best of luck with all your endeavors
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35 and hope to keep in touch and meet with you soon
00:27:35 --> 00:27:38 in another episode. Yeah, my pleasure. Thank
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 you so much. Take care. Dear listeners, we were
00:27:41 --> 00:27:44 talking to Dr. Nadler and we actually got to
00:27:44 --> 00:27:47 learn a lot about obesity, especially childhood
00:27:47 --> 00:27:51 obesity and treatments that we can have to support
00:27:51 --> 00:27:55 the conditions like obesity. If you did find
00:27:55 --> 00:27:58 this episode helpful, let us know. And also.
00:27:58 --> 00:28:01 Feel free to share this with your friends and
00:28:01 --> 00:28:05 family. On that note, stay active and take action.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 I'll meet you all in the next episode. Have a
00:28:08 --> 00:28:16 wonderful day. Thank you for joining us on the
00:28:16 --> 00:28:20 Active Action Podcast at activeaction .fm. We
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 hope today's episode gave you some entertainment,
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 fresh perspectives, and a little extra motivation
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