About This Course
Diabesity Foundations is the complete framework course for clinicians who want to evaluate and treat obesity and type 2 diabetes as what they are: overlapping expressions of metabolic dysfunction, not failures of willpower. Across six two-hour sessions over a single weekend, the course follows a clean clinical arc — from why the conventional model falls short, through the biology of the metabolic feedback loop, modern diagnosis, pharmacologic and lifestyle treatment, and finally the neuroendocrine integration that ties it together. This is a restructured, higher-density version of the original Virtual Provider Course: the same essential clinical content, consolidated into a focused two-day format. It is built for primary care and obesity-medicine clinicians who want a coherent, science-based approach they can use in practice .
Key Course Insights and Objectives
Reframe obesity and type 2 diabetes as a single metabolic process and explain the feedback-loop biology that drives it
Apply a systems-based diagnostic approach — moving beyond BMI to body composition, tiered laboratory testing, and dynamic assessment
Select and sequence pharmacologic therapy (GLP-1, dual and triple agonists, amylin analogs) by comorbidity profile, and know when surgery belongs in the plan
Build nutrition and lifestyle strategies that preserve lean mass, counsel patients on environmental exposures (BPA, DEHP) that worsen insulin resistance, and integrate the neuroendocrine picture — including brain insulin resistance — into long-term, brain-health-informed care
Speaker Information
Emily Cooper, MD
Founder & Medical Director, Diabesity Institute
Emily Cooper, MD is the founder and Medical Director of the Diabesity Institute in Seattle and host of the Fat Science podcast. Board-certified in both Family Medicine and Obesity Medicine, she developed the diabesity framework — an approach that treats body weight as a sign of metabolic feedback-loop dysfunction rather than a primary disease. She provides courses for clinicians through the Virtual Provider Course and its continuing-education updates.
Course Structure — Six Sessions Over Two Days
Day 1 — Saturday, October 10 Session 1 · Reframing the Issue (8:00–10:00 AM) — Why the metabolic system is underemphasized, obesity as a metabolic disorder, the limits of calorie restriction, and how surgical, pharmacologic, and combined pathways fit together. Session 2 · The Metabolic Feedback Loop (10:30 AM–12:30 PM) — Peripheral hunger and satiety signals, hypothalamic integration, where the loop breaks down, and the role of genetic vulnerability and environmental triggers. Session 3 · Modern Approach to Diagnosis (1:30–3:30 PM) — A pattern-based diagnostic framework: why BMI is inadequate, body composition and waist measures, tiered laboratory testing, and reading the metabolic picture from routine labs. Day 2 — Sunday, October 11 Session 4 · Pharmacological Strategies (8:00–10:00 AM) — GLP-1 receptor agonists, dual and triple agonists, amylin analogs, combination rationale, treatment algorithms by comorbidity, and a working overview of bariatric and metabolic surgery. Session 5 · Nutritional and Lifestyle Strategies (10:30 AM–12:30 PM) — Beyond calorie restriction: energy availability, macronutrient distribution and protein for muscle preservation, sleep and stress, and practical counseling on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Session 6 · Neuroendocrine Integration & Clinical Management (1:30–3:30 PM) — The synthesis session: hypothalamic-pituitary integration, genetic testing applications, long-term safety monitoring, and emerging brain-metabolism science including central insulin resistance and glymphatic clearance.
CME Credit
The AAFP has reviewed Diabesity Foundations: A Metabolic Approach to Obesity and Diabetes Care (2026) and deemed it acceptable for up to 12.00 Live AAFP Prescribed credit(s). The term of Approval is from 10/10/2026 to 10/11/2026. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.