Approaching Weight Management with Teens with Dr. Karla Lester

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us. When it comes to weight management in the pediatric arena, we are faced with a lot of complexity. As a parent, it can be challenging to know where to start or how to approach the issue without causing harm to your child. Unfortunately, where health and weight management is concerned, self-compassion is not the first thing that springs to mind. Instead, the toxic diet culture beliefs that we have been brought up with, often end up seeping into our teens’ way of thinking too. Board certified pediatrician and life coach Dr. Karla Lester is a passionate advocate for children’s health, and has worked tirelessly to teach kids, (and their parents!) to ditch self judgment, love themselves as they are, and feel empowered to take action on their health. She joins me in this episode to give her take on the role of weight stigma, toxic media messaging, and weight loss medications in tackling the childhood obesity epidemic. (While there is a focus on teen health, this episode is relevant for anyone who wants to know how to support people with weight management, without causing more harm.) Connect with Dr. Karla Lester: Website: www.imecommunity.com Telehealth: www.drkarlamd.com TikTok: @imecommunity Insta: @ime_community YouTube: @imecommunity IME Community Podcast on Apple and Spotify Doctors on Social Media: https://doctorsonsocialmedia.com/karla-lester-md/ KevinMD.com: https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/karla-lester References Gordon, Aubrey. “Leave Fat Kids Alone.” The New York Times, 2020. Quotes 08:28 - “Self-love is a superpower.” -Karla Lester MD 08:38 - “We think that we have to be negative, perfectionistic, grind out goals, and happiness is at the finish line. That's what diet culture teaches us and parents are really stuck in it.” -Karla Lester MD 21:47 - “Body diversity is a fact. We're going to celebrate it. You don't cause and you don't control.” -Karla Lester MD All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast. If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com Not Sure Where to Start With the Podcast? I’ve Got You. Get my free Podcast Roadmap —a simple guide to help you find the episodes that matter most to your journey. Whether you're on GLP-1s, navigating plateaus, or just starting out, there's something here for you. Support the show