Episode # 3 • 17 Jan 2025
Obesity Medicine in Women’s Health
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in women, and for many women the OBGYN is the only doctor they see each year, so how can obesity medicine become a natural part of that visit? On this episode of BackTable Women’s Health, Dr. Nicole Faulkner is joined by Dr. Taylor Hahn, an OBGYN board certified in obesity medicine and founder of VIA Women’s Health Collective, to discuss how general OBGYNs can integrate obesity care into everyday practice. They cover how to raise the weight conversation with and without a patient’s cue, which baseline labs to order, how to counsel patients on GLP-1 medications around pregnancy, and how to build a multidisciplinary team.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
02:52 - Making Time for the Weight Conversation
05:10 - A Cardiometabolic Framework for Discussing Weight
09:14 - Baseline Labs: Lipids, Apolipoprotein B, Lipoprotein(a), and Thyroid
14:48 - Building a Multidisciplinary Care Team
18:35 - Obesity Across Gynecologic Conditions
22:36 - GLP-1 Medications Around Conception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum
27:46 - Opportunities for OBGYNs and Removing Shame
31:37 - Follow-Up, Monitoring, and Barriers to Lifestyle Change
36:39 - Advice for OBGYNs New to Obesity Medicine
40:53 - Adding Weight to the Health History Questionnaire
42:56 - Closing Remarks
Resources
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More about this episode
Dr. Hahn explains why she frames the conversation around cardiometabolic health rather than the number on the scale, and why she adds apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a), and more complete thyroid testing to her baseline workup. The conversation moves through the ways obesity intersects with abnormal uterine bleeding, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS, formerly PCOS), fertility, and perimenopause; how to counsel patients who conceive while taking a GLP-1 medication, plan a washout before conception, and restart therapy postpartum; and what follow-up looks like during titration and maintenance. The discussion closes on removing shame from the conversation, adding a weight question to the intake form, and the reminder that OBGYNs do not need a second board certification to make a meaningful difference.
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