The Evolution of Multidisciplinary Obesity Treatments and the Role of Nutrition: Past, Present, and Future (Part 1)

Amanda Velazquez, MD, DABOM

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Director of Obesity Medicine, Dept of Surgery
Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Health
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA, USA

Dr Amanda Velazquez is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery and the Director of Obesity Medicine at the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Health at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Dr Velazquez graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gilling’s School of Public Health with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and received her medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, where she was elected to the national medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA). She went on to complete her internal medicine residency at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. Subsequently, she completed the Nutrition and Obesity Medicine fellowship program at Boston University School of Medicine. She is passionate about achieving health equity and reducing health disparities through increased access to treatments for obesity, improving obesity medicine and nutrition education efforts for medical trainees and healthcare professionals, and cultivating systematic healthcare change through preventive medicine efforts. Her research interests have focused on pharmacotherapy treatments of obesity, medical education of obesity medicine and nutrition, and reducing weight bias and stigma among healthcare professionals.

Colleen Tewksbury, PhD, MPH, RD, CSOWM, LDN, FAND, FASMBS-IH

Assistant Professor of Nutrition Science, School of Nursing
Assistant Professor of Nursing in Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Colleen Tewksbury is an Assistant Professor in Nutrition Science at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing with a secondary appointment as an Assistant Professor of Nursing in Surgery for the Perelman School of Medicine. Her previous roles at Penn for the past decade have included serving as a weight management dietitian, bariatric program coordinator, bariatric program manager, and senior research investigator. Colleen’s research focuses on optimizing obesity treatment through nutrition, including bariatric surgery and pharmacotherapy. Colleen has received more than 10 scholarships and awards from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and has served in multiple leadership positions for the Academy, the Pennsylvania Academy, and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Sandra Christensen, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC, MFOMA, FAANP

Obesity Specialist, Speaker & Author
Integrative Medical Weight Management
Seattle, WA, USA

Sandra Christensen has specialized in obesity treatment since 2005. She owns her practice, Integrative Medical Weight Management, in Seattle, Washington. She holds the Certificate of Advanced Education in Obesity Medicine from the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA). Sandra is a fellow of the OMA, where she serves on the board of trustees and was named the 2022 Clinician of the Year. 

Sandra speaks on the topic of obesity at international, national, state, and local conferences and webinars. She is involved in projects and initiatives that educate clinicians about obesity treatment and advocate for access to care. She is an Associate Editor of Obesity Pillars, a co-author of several OMA Clinical Practice Statements, and a contributing author of the OMA Obesity Algorithm. She is the author of “A Clinician’s Guide to Discussing Obesity with Patients,” published by Springer. 

Steven Heymsfield, MD

Professor and Director
Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Louisiana State University System
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Steven Heymsfield, MD, is a Professor and Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge. He served as Executive Director of Pennington for three years before assuming his current academic position. 

Dr Heymsfield has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers covering topics such as obesity, malnutrition, cancer, cachexia, and body composition. His contributions to the study of human nutrition led to the TOPS Award from The Obesity Society (TOS), the Rhoads Award from the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the Robert H. Herman Memorial Award, the American Society of Nutrition (ASN), and the George Bray Founders Award from TOS. Dr Heymsfield is the past president of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, and The Obesity Society.