Devika Umashanker

Obesity Medicine Specialist

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

Congratulations to my colleague and lead author Sarah Barenbaum, MD for her feature on the @TheEndoSo JES
👉 https://t.co/L4W643pSEp

Top 3 clinical takeaways from our #openaccess mini-review on #obesity comorbidities and complications:

1. Obesity should be treated as the root disease—not just its downstream complications.
Too often, clinicians focus on managing diabetes, hypertension, OSA, MASLD, or osteoarthritis in isolation. But obesity itself is the upstream chronic disease driving multimorbidity across organ systems.
BMI alone is not enough for clinical risk assessment.

2. While useful at the population level, BMI can miss important individual risk.
In practice, clinicians should also assess adiposity distribution and obesity-related complications (eg, waist measures, cardiometabolic risk, physical and psychological burden) to better define “clinical obesity.”
The amount of weight loss matters because comorbidity improvement is "dose-dependent."

3. Even modest weight loss (3–5%) improves glycemia and triglycerides, while greater weight loss (10–15%+) can improve or even remit conditions such as OSA, MASH, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular risk—reinforcing the importance of matching treatment intensity to comorbidity burden and goals.

Recognizing hashtag#obesity as the root cause and addressing all of its consequences is crucial as the field starts to define exact "treatment goals" the way we do for other chronic diseases

Direct article link: https://t.co/GWizSxcrAq

[Vumedi Endocrinology @Endo_Vumedi]

How much weight should patients lose before bariatric surgery?

@devika_md and Dr. Arit Esu (@HartfordHealthC) present this expert case showing how a VLCD led to 98 lbs lost—and the surprising cardiac complication along the way.

🎥 Watch now on #VuMedi: https://t.co/v8exMebWxL

#Bariatrics #ObesityMedicine #MetabolicHealth #SurgeryPrep #WeightLoss #Cardiometabolic #MedTwitter #CME

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

In anticipation of formulary changes come July 1, 2025, which may affect patients' access to #Zepbound if they have CVS Caremark as a #PBM, @tristateobesity society has created a form for #patients to fill out that will auto-email them a draft Letter of Medical Necessity (LOMN) that can be shared with their #healthcare team

👉https://t.co/qkv426OHLz

Free to use, Please share widely

Footnotes👇

[Neil Floch MD @NeilFlochMD]

I promise it will be entertaining because I will be moderating

⁦@tristateobesity⁩ - a free dinner event on 4/10 6-8PM ET in Connecticut with an expert panel on the #Business of #Obesity #Medicine @NeilFlochMD @DrAngelaFitch @devika_md @DrJayyy__ https://t.co/gKrYrsRMnM

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

I'm hosting the next virtual #journalclub with @tristateobesity society on 2/11 at 5:30 PM ET

I've invited two colleagues to present their recent publication on anti #obesity #medicine and #weightloss maintenance with GLP1➡️oral meds

Join us at this #freewebinar !

https://t.co/kkhh9Ih9ry

[Neil Floch MD @NeilFlochMD]

Dr. Rachel Goldmann speaks about clinicians using social media and the importance of educating the public about medical evidence to reduce misinformation @AskDr_Rachel at the #asmbsct25

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

Inspiring work on #obesity #advocacy from the President of @ASMBS Dr. Ann M Rogers who has worked tirelessly to end #weightstigma #weightbias and ⬆️ access to metabolic-bariatric surgery and pharmacotherapy
👉 There is no discussion of "return on investiment" with any other medical treatment
👉 Other new treatments get covered bc their diseases are not stigmatized (NB: Did you see how fast tirzepatide got coverage for OSA?)

#ASMBSCT25

[Dr. Rachel @AskDr_Rachel]

Love this power panel discussing the future of pharmacological therapies (meds) and bariatric surgery in the treatment of #obesity @ASMBSCT1 @ASMBS #asmbsct25 .

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

Fantastic presentation tonight by @DrJayyy__ at @tristateobesity 's inaugural Virtual Journal Club, moderated by @devika_md

Takeaways from FLOW:
👉 Offer semaglutide 1.0 mg #Ozempic to adults with CKD GFR ≥25 +microalbuminura and type 2 #diabetes
👉 35-60% of participants already on ACEi/ARB, 15% on SGLT2i
👉 24% ⬇️ relative risk of CKD progression, #renal failure, or death from #CVD or #kidney causes
👉 NNT = 22 over 3.4 years

https://t.co/M9nZ6VLoBT

#endocrine #nephrology #endocrinology #medicine #education

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

Reminder for tonight's Virtual Journal Club 6/18 5:30-6:30PM ET
Hope to see you there!

#obesity #medicine #education #free #webinar

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

Pay attention! We at @tristateobesity society will be announcing an exciting new #obesity #education #webinar series that will be *different* from any other you've attended before

I recommend signing up for our General Membership (free) plan to be In the Know when we announce!

https://t.co/Vusk2ieE3f

@devika_md @DrJayyy__ @NevadaMCox

[Dale Bond @dalesbond]

Congratulations to @devika_md of @hartfordhosp @HartfordHealthC who won the #ifso2023 IH early stage investigator award for her work “prevalence and risk factors of migraine in a clinic-based sample of patients seeking surgical or medical treatment for obesity.”

[AllisonVerhaakPhD @allisonverhaak]

Thrilled to announce our paper in @IntJObesity re: the relationship between internalized weight bias and clinical attrition. We need to better understand how weight stigma impacts patient health and engagement. @devika_md Rebecca Puhl at @UConnRuddCenter @HartfordHealthC

[Devika Umashanker @devika_md]

@ElieNaddaf3 @NIH_NIAMS @MayoClinic @MayoClinicNeuro Congratulations!!!!

[Devika Umashanker @devika_md]

India Can’t Claim Kamala Harris Until It Addresses its Unapologetic Racism https://t.co/XRGgebxNyc via @livewire

[Devika Umashanker @devika_md]

Let’s make history

[Shawnté James, MD: The Olds™/Elder Millennial @ShawnteJamesMD]

When the hospital cafeteria closes at 7:30 and you arrive at 7:32 to see the gate already pulled down and locked:

[ABC News @ABC]

In a special @ABC2020, an uncommitted voter presses Pres. Trump on how his slogan "Make America Great Again" relates to Black Americans, "because that pushes us back to a time in which we cannot identify with such greatness."

Watch @ABC News' town hall tonight at 9|8c.

[Paul Davidson, PhD @PaulDavidsonPhD]

@faithhh_anne @PsychoDietitian @Born2lbFat @Eggface @obsmchat I call my own weight battles "street cred", it makes it easier to help those with weight loss issues! #obsm

[Devika Umashanker @devika_md]

A doctor's open apology to those fighting overweight and obesity https://t.co/a8swUZQ7u7 via @ConversationUS