Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen

First, I think we need to backtrack a little bit before we dive into that answer. Sure. We as a society tend to associate being thin as being healthy. So whenever we see somebody that you can think they're slim, they're thin, they don't need this medication, we're assuming that they're healthy. Yep. That they're metabolically healthy. Yep. Yep.

First, I think we need to backtrack a little bit before we dive into that answer. Sure. We as a society tend to associate being thin as being healthy. So whenever we see somebody that you can think they're slim, they're thin, they don't need this medication, we're assuming that they're healthy. Yep. That they're metabolically healthy. Yep. Yep.

First, I think we need to backtrack a little bit before we dive into that answer. Sure. We as a society tend to associate being thin as being healthy. So whenever we see somebody that you can think they're slim, they're thin, they don't need this medication, we're assuming that they're healthy. Yep. That they're metabolically healthy. Yep. Yep.

But we don't know by just looking at somebody, right? When I do body compositions on my patients, and this should be done on every patient. And basically, I would say even patients that don't need weight loss medications, just to know what's your body composition. Because whenever we're talking about weight loss, we're really talking about fat loss, right? We're not talking about a bulk number.

But we don't know by just looking at somebody, right? When I do body compositions on my patients, and this should be done on every patient. And basically, I would say even patients that don't need weight loss medications, just to know what's your body composition. Because whenever we're talking about weight loss, we're really talking about fat loss, right? We're not talking about a bulk number.

But we don't know by just looking at somebody, right? When I do body compositions on my patients, and this should be done on every patient. And basically, I would say even patients that don't need weight loss medications, just to know what's your body composition. Because whenever we're talking about weight loss, we're really talking about fat loss, right? We're not talking about a bulk number.

We're talking specifically, we want to reduce what can cause disease or increase your risk of disease, which is Fat, not muscle. So by doing a body composition, we can see what's the percentage of somebody, right? What's their visceral fat and what's the muscle mass?

We're talking specifically, we want to reduce what can cause disease or increase your risk of disease, which is Fat, not muscle. So by doing a body composition, we can see what's the percentage of somebody, right? What's their visceral fat and what's the muscle mass?

We're talking specifically, we want to reduce what can cause disease or increase your risk of disease, which is Fat, not muscle. So by doing a body composition, we can see what's the percentage of somebody, right? What's their visceral fat and what's the muscle mass?

So many patients that we may see slim or thin, they could be what we call a skinny fat or sarcopenic obesity, that they may have a very low muscle mass. and high body fat, there's still a risk of disease. They're still in a pro-inflammatory chronic state, right? There can still develop type 2 diabetes or even be a risk of developing cancer.

So many patients that we may see slim or thin, they could be what we call a skinny fat or sarcopenic obesity, that they may have a very low muscle mass. and high body fat, there's still a risk of disease. They're still in a pro-inflammatory chronic state, right? There can still develop type 2 diabetes or even be a risk of developing cancer.

So many patients that we may see slim or thin, they could be what we call a skinny fat or sarcopenic obesity, that they may have a very low muscle mass. and high body fat, there's still a risk of disease. They're still in a pro-inflammatory chronic state, right? There can still develop type 2 diabetes or even be a risk of developing cancer.

So just by looking at somebody, we cannot say what the body composition is and what they need or don't need to lose. Got it, right? So we first need to stop associating thinness with health, right?

So just by looking at somebody, we cannot say what the body composition is and what they need or don't need to lose. Got it, right? So we first need to stop associating thinness with health, right?

So just by looking at somebody, we cannot say what the body composition is and what they need or don't need to lose. Got it, right? So we first need to stop associating thinness with health, right?

Many times when I see patients that think they need to lose 10 pounds or 5 pounds, when we do a body composition, surprise, surprise, they actually have to lose 20 or 25 because they're under muscle, right? So to really say who needs this medication or not, we cannot assume by looking at somebody that they do or they do not.

Many times when I see patients that think they need to lose 10 pounds or 5 pounds, when we do a body composition, surprise, surprise, they actually have to lose 20 or 25 because they're under muscle, right? So to really say who needs this medication or not, we cannot assume by looking at somebody that they do or they do not.

Many times when I see patients that think they need to lose 10 pounds or 5 pounds, when we do a body composition, surprise, surprise, they actually have to lose 20 or 25 because they're under muscle, right? So to really say who needs this medication or not, we cannot assume by looking at somebody that they do or they do not.

So we have machines, right? So the gold standard for a body composition is an MRI, but we're not going to do MRI on every patient on every visit. The second is DEXA. And then the third, which is the more accessible, is body impedance, also known as InBody. There's different versions of it. So those are the ones that are more easy, accessible, and they offer no radiation to the patient.

So we have machines, right? So the gold standard for a body composition is an MRI, but we're not going to do MRI on every patient on every visit. The second is DEXA. And then the third, which is the more accessible, is body impedance, also known as InBody. There's different versions of it. So those are the ones that are more easy, accessible, and they offer no radiation to the patient.