The Onslaught of Telehealth Weight Loss and Obesity Care
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this January, you have probably noticed that this is no longer diet season. U.S. News seems to have abandoned their longstanding annual ranking of “Best Diets,” perhaps because no one is paying attention in this age of drugs related to Ozempic. Now, more people are dealing with excess body weight as a biological or medical problem. As a result, instead of an onslaught of sketchy diets, we have an onslaught of advertising for telehealth weight loss and obesity care.
The quality of what’s on offer ranges from absurd to reasonably high quality care. So how can an average person tell the difference? Here are a few thoughts we have.
Basic Expectations
Virtual care should meet – or exceed – the standards of in-person care. Convenience is not a license for shortcuts. A credible telehealth provider will acknowledge the limits of virtual visits, especially the lack of a physical exam, and will encourage collaboration with an in-person primary care clinician when needed. If a service treats telehealth as a cheap substitute rather than a different delivery model for high-quality care, that’s a red flag.
Essential Elements of Clinical Care
Safe, effective cardiometabolic care requires a full medical evaluation, including appropriate labs. It requires discussion of all reasonable treatment options – not a single drug pushed as a cure-all. High-quality programs explain risks, benefits, and alternatives, provide ongoing education, and actively monitor weight, vital signs, labs, and side effects over time. They offer access or referrals to dietitians, mental health professionals, and specialists. And they are explicit about what they will not tolerate: weight bias, stigma, discrimination, or unsafe and inadequately studied treatments.
Alignment with the Biology of Obesity
Finally, assess whether the program aligns with biology. Obesity is not a willpower problem; it is a complex, chronic, and heterogeneous disease. Good telehealth care is comprehensive, personalized, long-term, and dynamic. It addresses each person’s unique drivers of obesity and its complications – and recognizes that reaching a goal weight is not the end, but the beginning. Sustainable success depends on ongoing care and thoughtful maintenance strategies.
Acknowledgments
This post comes from the clear thinking on telehealth and obesity by Katherine Saunders, an obesity medicine physician with considerable expertise in the subject. It’s also worth noting that ConscienHealth’s Ted Kyle serves as an independent advisor to Ro, one of those companies that is out there doing the hard work of delivering telehealth services for obesity and weight management.
For further perspective, click here.
1962 B&W Toshiba Television Set, photograph by Daderot / Wikimedia Commons
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January 9, 2026
