When it comes to weight management in the pediatric arena, we are faced with a lot of complexity. As a parent, it can be challenging to know where to start or how to approach the issue without causing harm to your child.Unfortunately, where health and weight management is concerned, self-compassion is not the first thing that springs to mind. Instead, the toxic diet culture beliefs that we have been brought up with, often end up seeping into our teens’ way of thinking too. Board certified pediatrician and life coach Dr. Karla Lester is a passionate advocate for children’s health, and has worked tirelessly to teach kids, (and their parents!) to ditch self judgment, love themselves as they are, and feel empowered to take action on their health. She joins me in this episode to give her take on the role of weight stigma, toxic media messaging, and weight loss medications in tackling the childhood obesity epidemic.(While there is a focus on teen health, this episode is relevant for anyone who wants to know how to support people with weight management, without causing more harm.)Connect with Dr. Karla Lester:Website: www.imecommunity.comTelehealth: www.drkarlamd.comTikTok: @imecommunityInsta: @ime_communityYouTube: @imecommunity IME Community Podcast on Apple and SpotifyDoctors on Social Media: https://doctorsonsocialmedia.com/karla-lester-md/KevinMD.com: https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/karla-lesterReferencesGordon, Aubrey. “Leave Fat Kids Alone.” The New York Times, 2020.Quotes08:28 - “Self-love is a superpower.” -Karla Lester MD08:38 - “We think that we have to be negative, perfectionistic, grind out goals, and happiness is at the finish line. That's what diet culture teaches us and parents are really stuck in it.” -Karla Lester MD21:47 - “Body diversity is a fact. We're going to celebrate it. You don't cause and you don't control.” -Karla Lester MD22:03 - “Their body is not something to fix or solve. One of the things we have to get out of is the singular fix.” -Karla Lester MDAudio Stamps04:24 - Dr. Lester shares her background and how she helps people6:14 - Dr. Lester discusses her philosophy when it comes to finding the middle ground between body positivity and metabolic health in children11:40 - Dr. Rentea asks what a parent can practically work on at home if they have been told their child needs to lose weight.16:45 - Dr. Lester shares her experiences of fat phobia and weight bias 32:20 -  We hear Dr. Lester’s opinions on the new guidelines for weighAll of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast. If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com