Dr. Barry Baines

I'm getting a lot of tears here.

I better say something.

But I mean, I think everything here that we're saying is true.

And one of the overlaying issues, from my perspective, is because obesity is so epidemic in our society, and it's multifactorial, as we've covered

on shows in particular for some of our people of color populations that live in areas where there's no nutritious food available, the food deserts, we kind of talked about that.

So then you wind up getting more empty calories, not the protein, not the fiber, not all those good things.

But I think you can't get away from this issue that you have an epidemic of obesity

And it's even worse with younger people today and some of the older populations.

I think there's been a very slight decrease over the past few years in obesity rates.

And then you have a disease that's also very prevalent in terms of type 2 diabetes.

And then as Dr. Chaklis Hassan has talked about, the indications for use of GLP-1s has been expanding.

And, you know, so you wind up getting in a really tough situation where, you know, when I was in an active practice working with, you know, patients, you know, doing exercise and eating right is, you know, it sounds, you know, easy, but behaviorally, it's very difficult.

And part of it is actually genetic, not from the standpoint that obesity is genetic, but the human species was always driven that you're always on the edge of starvation.

you know, in caveman and cavewoman times.

And if food was available, you just eat as much as you can and build up your fat reserves because you know it's going to happen.

And our genetics haven't changed with that.

So we're sort of at a very deep level.

The idea of exercise and good nutrition is not easy to follow.

And so this idea of the magic pill, the blockbuster, you know, medications that come out, this has had a significant impact.

But I kind of, in Dr. Jackson's corner here, because as soon as you go off the medication, if you don't do these other things, the weight will just come back.