HYBRID EVENT: You can participate in person at Orlando, Florida, USA or Virtually from your home or work.
Sara Ahmed, Speaker at Obesity Conference
Metamed, Canada

Abstract:

While GLP-1 agonists demonstrate e?cacy in trials, real-world discontinuation exceeds 50% at 6 months - a statistic re?ecting the limitations of medication-only approaches. Our Great Toronto Area (GTA)- based clinics’ multidisciplinary model (integrating CBT, body composition monitoring, and precision pharmacotherapy) has achieved 96% retention and unprecedented body recomposition in 129 patients (108F/21M). The results reveal not just superior outcomes, but critical age- and sex-speci?c patterns that rede?ne best practices. Postmenopausal women (>50yo) achieved ΔBF% -4.20 (95% CI [-4.5, -3.9]), doubling Look AHEAD trial benchmarks (p=0.002), while men >50yo matched this metabolic performance (-4.11percentage points (pp), CI [-4.8, -3.4]), defying expectations of age-related decline. Most strikingly, all groups maintained or gained lean mass (ΔSMM% +1.6-2.4pp), with women <30yo showing +2.68pp skeletal muscle mass (CI [+2.1, +3.3])

These achievements stem from three innovations: First, our proactive side-effect management protocol reduced GLP-1 discontinuation to 9% versus 31% in real-world cohorts through slow titration and anticipatory guidance. Second, 1:1 CBT sessions addressed emotional eating barriers. Third, biweekly body composition scans and AI-based food tracking application created powerful behavioral reinforcement, with body composition feedback sustaining engagement during plateaus (78% continued past 6 months). The data reveal striking correlations between monitoring frequency and outcomes (ΔBF%/SMM% correlation r=0.72, p<0.01), proving that what gets measured gets managed.

These ?ndings fundamentally reshape our understanding of obesity treatment e?cacy. The consistent lean mass preservation across all subgroups (ΔSMM% +1.6-2.4pp) challenges the prevailing weight-loss-at-all-costs paradigm, demonstrating that body recomposition - not just scale changes - should be the primary treatment target. The 0.72 correlation between monitoring frequency and outcomes (p<0.01) suggests these metrics may serve as early predictors of long-term success. Most importantly, the results provide biological evidence that multidisciplinary care isn't merely additive - it's transformative, creating synergistic effects where medication enhances lifestyle adherence while behavioral support optimizes pharmacotherapy persistence. This model offers clinicians an actionable blueprint to overcome obesity treatment's twin failures: metabolic adaptation and therapeutic attrition.

Biography:

Dr. Sara Ahmed is a dual board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine. She practices as a General Internist with Hamilton Health Sciences and serves as Founder & Chief Medical Officer of the Metamed Weight Management Center in Burlington. An Adjunct Associate Professor at McMaster University, she brings over 10 years of experience across U.S. and Canadian healthcare systems. Actively involved with Obesity Canada, she has presented at the ACP Ontario Chapter Meeting, Obesity Canada Conference, and Pri-Med Conference. Beyond patient care, she enjoys travelling, and maintaining an active social media presence.

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