Weight Wellness Day symposium presents strategies to tackle obesity
As she chopped up veggies during the Weight Wellness Day cooking demo, culinary dietitian and nutritionist Milette Siler, M.B.A., RD, LD, CCMS, urged the audience to add more fiber to their diets, spice up meals with herbs, and include legumes at dinnertime to improve health. Jaclyn Albin, M.D., Director of UT Southwestern’s Culinary Medicine Program, joined her in underscoring the growing science of using food as medicine, along with tips to preparing a nourishing diet without sacrificing taste.
These were some of the messages shared during the event, a free community symposium presented by the UT Southwestern Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) on Saturday, Oct. 14.
“Weight Wellness Day was conceived as a forum to empower North Texans and the wider community with knowledge about obesity and ways to achieve a healthy body weight,” said Jeffrey M. Zigman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry and Director of the Molecular Metabolism and Metabolic Diseases Graduate Track. Dr. Zigman directed the event, which was held for the first time this year for the public as well as for health care providers.
More than 200 people attended the morning session, which targeted the general community. Besides the healthy cooking demo, this session included a talk on anti-obesity medications and an overview of recent advances in obesity care.
Among the medications discussed was semaglutide, commonly known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. This long-acting form of the naturally made hormone GLP-1 works by decreasing appetite and slowing the emptying of the stomach. It also improves insulin release, Dr. Zigman said.
Tirzepatide, more commonly known by the brand name Mounjaro, also was discussed. Although it is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, it is very effective in patients with obesity as well, Dr. Zigman said.
Newer drugs that are not yet available include combination drugs – such as those that target receptors for GLP-1 and the hormone amylin – or others that pinpoint the receptors for GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon simultaneously, Dr. Zigman said.
Tips included how to make fruit more accessible, what to eat when produce is not in season, and how to encourage kids to try nourishing foods. For example, it’s OK to occasionally serve pizza to teens, but also add a vegetable tray with dips, Dr. Albin said. Simply leaving a bowl of fruit on the table, rather than hiding it in the refrigerator, makes it more tempting to grab when in a hurry. And eating frozen fruits and vegetables is a good option when they’re out of season.
Balance, moderation, and variety are key, said Dr. Albin, also Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, since there is no magic superfood. She encouraged the audience to eat the “Four Always,” which include 100% whole grain foods, nuts, beans, and fruits/vegetables.
“I realized I really don’t eat any yellow vegetables,” said attendee Betty Ellis of Fort Worth. “I came here today to get some ideas about nutrition, and I got them.”
Although Jennifer Burr of Richardson recently ran a marathon, she said she is always looking for ideas to stay healthy. “I wanted to get practical nutrition ideas and find ways to get the most out of what we eat,” Ms. Burr said.
The cooking demo was especially helpful to Lewisville resident Carol Poinier. “It was really interesting, and I enjoyed the samples,” she said. “I learned about serving sizes and different types of protein.”
Ann Dragon of Coppell came to learn about making nutritious meals for her family. “I’m trying to figure out the best ways to feed them to keep them healthy,” she said.
The afternoon’s continuing medical education course, the Obesity Treatment Boot Camp, attracted more than 44 attendees. It was held on the first day of ObesityWeek, the preeminent international conference for obesity researchers and clinicians, which was in Dallas this year. As a result, health care professionals from North Texas as well as other parts of the world attended Weight Wellness Day.
The UT Southwestern NORC is one of 11 nationwide designated by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and funded by the National Institutes of Health. It supports research infrastructure, enrichment programs (such as Weight Wellness Day), and collaborative activities for investigators conducting research in the causal factors of nutrition and obesity-related health problems, including consequences, prevention, and alleviation.