Karla Lester, MD

An effective treatment using an effective care delivery model: Using telehealth to treat adolescents with obesity with GLP-1 medications

June 7, 2025Jun 7, 2025

Will a telehealth model effectively engage adolescents with obesity and their parents to participate in their treatment plan? Do GLP-1 agonist medications work to improve weight status and reduce or eliminate comorbidities in adolescents? I've worked for over two decades…

Will a telehealth model effectively engage adolescents with obesity and their parents to participate in their treatment plan?

Do GLP-1 agonist medications work to improve weight status and reduce or eliminate comorbidities in adolescents?

I’ve worked for over two decades as a community pediatrician to address the childhood and adolescent obesity epidemic. I can say with full certainty, when it comes to adolescents, we aren’t getting anywhere. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the …

Drugs and prescribing

GLP-1 medications like Wegovy are effective metabolic health tools for teens with insulin resistance

April 17, 2024Apr 17, 2024

Lizzie is a 13-year-old with a great sense of humor. She tells it like it is, especially to her Mom, Jackie, who admits to being a bit of an Almond Mom (the parent who is stuck in a weight-focused diet…

Lizzie is a 13-year-old with a great sense of humor.

She tells it like it is, especially to her Mom, Jackie, who admits to being a bit of an Almond Mom (the parent who is stuck in a weight-focused diet culture). Jackie leads a very healthy lifestyle and has never had to deal with being overweight. Jackie is different from other Moms I work with because she isn’t telling me that …

The epidemic of narcissistic abuse in the medical field

July 7, 2023Jul 7, 20236

I didn't go through that to go through this. "She doesn't know how to work within a system," said Snakeskin Shoes. Narcissists grow and thrive in children's hospitals. Their strategy is to inflict moral injury upon physicians by gaslighting and…

I didn’t go through that to go through this.

“She doesn’t know how to work within a system,” said Snakeskin Shoes.

Narcissists grow and thrive in children’s hospitals. Their strategy is to inflict moral injury upon physicians by gaslighting and silencing those who speak up for patient safety or for themselves, while also controlling a false narrative about them.

Snakeskin Shoes, the former VP of marketing and communications, is a poster boy narcissist. …

Surviving a manipulative CEO: my experience with gaslighting

April 19, 2023Apr 19, 2023

The last time I met with "The King," I wasn't planning on meeting with him alone. I never would. It was July 2019, and my family was flying to Europe the next day. "The King" is the former hospital president/CEO,…

The last time I met with “The King,” I wasn’t planning on meeting with him alone. I never would. It was July 2019, and my family was flying to Europe the next day.

“The King” is the former hospital president/CEO, hired by the board in 2015. He was the former chief of pediatric surgery at a well-known children’s hospital who came along with a demand that his wife, who he often …

My journey parenting with chronic depression as a physician mom

January 5, 2023Jan 5, 2023

I remember feeling like I was on an island, and any time I separated from her and put her down, I frantically looked around for her, daydreaming she was lost at sea. When I was pregnant, everything was contained and…

I remember feeling like I was on an island, and any time I separated from her and put her down, I frantically looked around for her, daydreaming she was lost at sea.

When I was pregnant, everything was contained and controlled. Her womb gymnastics, even at night, were welcome interruptions to my sleep.

It was my first time breastfeeding, and even though I was a pediatrician, getting her to get a good …

Health care’s 3 epic childhood obesity failures

September 23, 2022Sep 23, 2022

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of spouting the same old worsening childhood obesity statistics, applying the same dilute and sometimes broken strategy, not getting anywhere, judging myself as a doctor, then shifting the blame to my patient…

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of spouting the same old worsening childhood obesity statistics, applying the same dilute and sometimes broken strategy, not getting anywhere, judging myself as a doctor, then shifting the blame to my patient and their parents, then feeling powerless and defeated.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

It’s a cycle we’re stuck in, and it’s not serving anyone, especially our patients.

I’m not going to go over the impact …

Our Shakespearean love affair with BMI

Our Shakespearean love affair with BMI

August 13, 2022Aug 13, 2022

I'm standing outside the exam room, reviewing Marcus, my 16-year-old patient's growth chart, specifically his BMI. It's up again, and my heart sinks. I feel that all too common rush of frustration and disappointment and, "Why am I here and…

I’m standing outside the exam room, reviewing Marcus, my 16-year-old patient’s growth chart, specifically his BMI. It’s up again, and my heart sinks. I feel that all too common rush of frustration and disappointment and, “Why am I here and what is the point?”

“Am I just here to document weight gain in my patients?”

Marcus has been coming to my pediatric weight management clinic for over two years and has high …

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What it takes to build a pediatric weight management program

August 3, 2022Aug 3, 2022

What they want is power, control, and to take all the credit. In short, they want what you have. Vision. Even more so, the ability to manifest a vison. Even more so, they want your energy. Your passion. "Candy Everybody…

What they want is power, control, and to take all the credit. In short, they want what you have.

Vision. Even more so, the ability to manifest a vison. Even more so, they want your energy. Your passion.

“Candy Everybody Wants” by 10,000 Maniacs is an epic song. I know every word.

Hey hey give ‘em what they want
If lust and hate is the candy
If blood and love taste so sweet
Then we give

…

Fat acceptance is a human acceptance movement

July 16, 2022Jul 16, 2022

The recent article by Danielle Crittenden, "The Danger of Fat Acceptance: The Average American Woman Is Now a Size 18" is more of the same perpetuation of our society's deeply internalized diet culture, weight blaming, and shaming of the individual…

The recent article by Danielle Crittenden, “The Danger of Fat Acceptance: The Average American Woman Is Now a Size 18” is more of the same perpetuation of our society’s deeply internalized diet culture, weight blaming, and shaming of the individual and collective pursuit of thin privilege.

The article was sent to me by a friend, but I didn’t need to read it because I’m so familiar with the …

Creating community solutions for children’s health

July 3, 2022Jul 3, 2022

Every year, I celebrate and mourn when I officially left my primary care pediatric practice full of patients and parents that I loved to launch my non-profit, Teach a Kid to Fish. May 31, 2008, was the last day of…

Every year, I celebrate and mourn when I officially left my primary care pediatric practice full of patients and parents that I loved to launch my non-profit, Teach a Kid to Fish.

May 31, 2008, was the last day of my practice. Had I known what I was in for, my future self may have stopped me. But I’m so delighted that possibility didn’t exist.

I’m a vision-oriented person and wanted to …

The visionary pediatrician may soon be an endangered species

May 21, 2022May 21, 2022

If I were writing a book about what it’s like to be a visionary pediatrician speaking up for children’s health, I would title it, The Hate We Get. A few months ago, I received a death threat comment on a…

If I were writing a book about what it’s like to be a visionary pediatrician speaking up for children’s health, I would title it, The Hate We Get.

A few months ago, I received a death threat comment on a TikTok video I posted advocating for COVID vaccines.

My college-aged daughter called me, “Mom, I saw your TikTok video. That’s so scary. I’m so sorry.”

“I expected it. I’ve had worse.”

I did a …

Don’t be in a hurry to fast

Don’t be in a hurry to fast

February 11, 2022Feb 11, 2022

There is a lot of confusion and outright falsehoods about fasting. You can search the internet for clarity and end up more confused than when you started. The fact is, fasting can be a very effective tool to improve your…

There is a lot of confusion and outright falsehoods about fasting. You can search the internet for clarity and end up more confused than when you started.

The fact is, fasting can be a very effective tool to improve your metabolic health, increase insulin sensitivity and help you lose weight. But, who should and shouldn’t use fasting for weight loss and how long to fast for effective weight loss are questions …

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Karla Lester, MD & Katherine Lester

Medical gaslighting due to weight stigma and bias is harmful: a viral TikTok study

June 28, 2021Jun 28, 20212

“We need to stop weight shaming people & not make them fearful of seeing a Dr., but we also need to find a supportive way to talk about obesity.” - TikTok commenter “You’ve got to get on TikTok,” everyone kept…

“We need to stop weight shaming people & not make them fearful of seeing a Dr., but we also need to find a supportive way to talk about obesity.”
– TikTok commenter

“You’ve got to get on TikTok,” everyone kept saying. Launching a web-based life and weight coaching platform for teens, I begrudgingly decided it was time to jump in. I felt like I was putting on an ill-fitting scuba mask and snorkel …