Goutham Rao, MD

Panelists discuss how treating obesity as the root cause can create a "virtuous cycle" where weight loss improves insulin resistance, reduces medication needs, and enables better physical activity, breaking the traditional reactive approach to diabetes management.

Panelists discuss how barriers to implementing evidence-based obesity and diabetes care include limited provider time, lack of multidisciplinary teams, insufficient education about obesity physiology, and high costs of medications and programs.

Panelists discuss how ADA recommendations emphasize treating diabetes as part of overlapping conditions requiring cardiovascular and kidney protection, moving beyond just glycemic control to comprehensive care that addresses the whole person.

Panelists discuss how hormonal adaptations during weight loss in diabetes patients improve insulin sensitivity, while the DiRECT trial demonstrates that structured weight management programs can achieve diabetes remission in nearly half of newly diagnosed patients.