About this episode
How do GLP-1 medications affect food noise and alcohol use? What does obesity research tell us about talking to children about weight? And what happens when researchers actually listen to people living with obesity?
In this episode of Weight & Measure, Mike Donnelly-Boylen and Deb Cooperman are joined by obesity researchers Dr. Michelle Cardel and Dr. Gary Foster for an evidence-based conversation about GLP-1 medications, food noise, alcohol use, childhood weight conversations, weight stigma, and patient-centered obesity research.
The conversation begins with food noise, a term patients were using to describe persistent thoughts about food before researchers had a validated way to measure the experience.
What exactly is food noise? How is it different from hunger, cravings, or simply thinking about food? Michelle and Gary explain how patient experiences helped researchers define and measure food noise and what we're learning about how GLP-1 medications may affect it.
Then the conversation turns to another unexpected experience reported by people taking obesity medications: changes in alcohol use.
Michelle discusses research involving more than 14,000 people who started an obesity medication and what researchers observed about alcohol consumption. The group explores how patient reports can provide an important scientific signal while separating interesting observations from conclusions supported by evidence.
The episode then moves into children, weight, and the language parents use.
Michelle and Gary discuss research examining parents' beliefs about how much control children have over their weight and how those beliefs relate to negative weight comments. What happens when a parent's intention to help doesn't match how a child experiences the conversation? What have young people told researchers about how they want parents to approach conversations about weight?
The discussion ultimately raises a bigger question:
What does science miss when it doesn't listen to patients?
The group explores why meaningful outcomes in obesity treatment may extend beyond pounds lost or BMI. Reduced food noise, improved mobility, quality of life, freedom from constant thoughts about food, and other patient-defined outcomes may matter enormously even when they have historically been difficult to capture in obesity research.
In this episode:
• What is food noise, and how is it measured?
• Food noise vs. hunger and cravings
• GLP-1 medications and food noise
• Food noise during weight loss and maintenance
• Obesity medications and alcohol use
• When patient reports become research questions
• Social media observations vs. scientific evidence
• How parents talk to children about weight
• Childhood obesity, weight comments, and weight stigma
• What children want from parents when discussing weight
• Why weight loss and BMI aren't the only outcomes that matter
• How patient experience can shape obesity research
Guests
Dr. Michelle Cardel is an obesity scientist and registered dietitian whose work has included obesity treatment, nutrition, health disparities, children and families, and incorporating patient perspectives into research. She serves as Senior Medical Director at Kailera Therapeutics.
Dr. Gary Foster is a clinical psychologist and obesity researcher whose work has focused on obesity treatment, behavior change, weight stigma, and translating research into people's lives. He serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Lingo at Abbott.
Michelle and Gary previously worked together at WeightWatchers, where they collaborated on research examining the experiences of people living with obesity.
Weight & Measure with Mike and Zach
Person-centered, evidence-based conversations for the obesity, GLP-1, and metabolic & bariatric surgery communities.
More Science. Less Stigma.