About this Workshop

This course, delivered under the Primary Care Obesity Society educational framework, provides a comprehensive overview of the principles, practicalities, and evidence-based approaches to managing obesity in primary care. Through a structured combination of presentations, discussion, and reflection, participants will gain the knowledge and confidence to assess, treat, and follow up patients living with overweight and obesity in accordance with current clinical guidance and best practice.

The workshop emphasises practical communication skills, safe pharmacotherapy use, and realistic lifestyle interventions to ensure effective, patient-centred obesity management.

Aim of the Course

To up-skill healthcare professionals in the UK to enable them, using evidence-based methods, to consult, assess, treat, and follow up safely the management of people living with overweight and obesity.

1. Understand obesity prevalence and opportunity

2. Explain the definition of obesity and how to diagnose; strengths and weaknesses of measurements of obesity

3. Understand the health risks of living with obesity

4. Explain the causes and drivers of obesity

5. Understand the importance of physical activity

6. Describe energy balance and its drivers

7. Understand energy intake and how it is regulated

8. Describe what happens after weight loss

9. Be comfortable introducing weight management into consultations

10. Understand NICE guidelines

11. Be comfortable giving diet and exercise advice

12. Understand and safely prescribe all pharmacotherapy options in the UK (mechanism, efficacy, dosing, side effects, contraindications)

13. Consult and introduce common side effects with mitigation strategies

14. Safely manage common queries arising during follow up consultations