Changing How We See Weight And Health

Описание: Weight is often framed as a matter of willpower or discipline, yet for many people it is shaped by far more complex forces. Shame, stigma and judgement can sit at the centre of our relationship with weight, affecting mental health, confidence and access to care, and often making change harder rather than easier.

In this episode of The Choice Space podcast, Dr Lee David is joined by Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi – GP and lifestyle medicine specialist – to explore obesity, weight and health through a compassionate, evidence-based lens. They discuss why focusing only on weight loss can miss what really matters, and how shifting attention towards health, context and choice can support more sustainable change.

They explore obesity as a long-term health condition influenced by biology, genetics, environment, stress, sleep and social context rather than personal failure. The conversation also addresses weight stigma, including within healthcare, and why shame and self-criticism so often undermine motivation and wellbeing.

The episode includes an open discussion about weight-management medication, including GLP-1 medications, when they may be helpful, why they attract stigma and how informed decision-making can support health without reinforcing shame.

This is a thoughtful conversation about weight, obesity and wellbeing, offering a kinder, more realistic way to think about caring for our bodies in a world that often makes healthy choices harder.

Key topics discussed
• Obesity, weight and health beyond willpower
• Shame, stigma and unconscious bias
• Obesity as a long-term health condition
• Behaviour change and why it is rarely linear
• Compassionate and realistic approaches to lifestyle change
• The role of environment, deprivation and stress
• Weight-management medication and GLP-1 treatments
• Informed choice, self-care and long-term wellbeing

About the host
Dr Lee David is a GP, CBT therapist and author specialising in mental health and wellbeing. Lee has written many books on CBT, mindfulness and teen wellbeing, and speaks regularly at conferences and in the media. Away from work she enjoys running, hiking, singing in a choir and spending time outdoors with her family. You can find Lee through her website (www.thechoicespace.co.uk) and on Instagram, TikTok (@dr.lee.david) and LinkedIn. You can find more about her books, wellbeing courses and therapy here: https://linktr.ee/dr.lee.david

About the guest
Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi is a GP with an extended role in lifestyle medicine and personalised care lead for the Leamington PCN. He is the RCGP lifestyle and physical activity champion, heads the UK’s first PCN-based fitness club, appears as a TV on This Morning and GMB and is parkrun’s Health Partnerships lead. He is also a trustee at ThinkActive, sits on the advisory board for Swim England and leads the Red Whale Lifestyle and Obesity medicine courses. Outside work, he’s is a keen triathlete who has represented his country. You can find him on instagram: @irondoctorhaz