Welcome To The Forbes Health Bulletin

Read clear, expert-driven perspectives from Dr. Lael Forbes on transformative medicine, obesity treatment, and personalized metabolic care—designed to inform, simplify, and advance patient understanding.

Featured
Forget BMI. Think FML.
Metabolic Science
Forget BMI. Think FML.
BMI was invented in 1835 — it's time we update our measures of success. Dr. Lael Forbes explains why body fat percentage, not body mass index, is the metric that actually matters in modern weight loss care.
by Dr. Lael E. Forbes
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GERD & Diagnostics
What your endoscopy results actually mean — a patient's guide
Dr. Lael Forbes
Precision Surgery
Individualized bariatric surgery: why one size never fits all
Dr. Lael Forbes
Patient Stories
From diagnosis to recovery: a patient's journey through GERD surgery
Forbes Health Team
Latest Articles
Transformative Medicine
GLP-1 medications: what patients need to know before starting
A clear-eyed look at how semaglutide and tirzepatide fit into a comprehensive metabolic care plan.
by Dr. Lael Forbes
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Obesity Medicine
Beyond the scale: redefining success in obesity treatment
Outcomes that matter most — from metabolic markers to long-term quality of life improvements.
by Dr. Lael Forbes
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Patient Care
What individualized surgery really means at Forbes Health
How our team tailors every procedure to your unique anatomy, history, and personal goals.
by Forbes Health Team
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GERD & Diagnostics
Advanced endoscopy: what to expect in our AAAA-rated suite
A step-by-step walkthrough of the diagnostic process and why precision visualization changes outcomes.
by Dr. Lael Forbes
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Metabolic Science
The link between insulin resistance and chronic digestive disease
New research connecting metabolic dysfunction to conditions once thought unrelated — and what it means for treatment.
by Dr. Lael Forbes
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Precision Surgery
Recovery timelines after minimally invasive bariatric surgery
What the research says about healing, and how Forbes Health's personalized protocols accelerate outcomes.
by Forbes Health Team
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Beyond BMI
Forbes Health Forbes Health

Beyond BMI

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the current standard tool for assessing whether an individual has a healthy body weight.  Top health organizations use BMI to track public health trends and set policy standards. At Ro and other major telehealth platforms, BMI functions as the primary or the exclusive criterion for prescribing GLP-1’s to millions of customers. However, BMI has significant limitations in clinical settings, and those limitations are revealed precisely when it comes to diagnosing obesity and developing treatment programs for weight loss. Obesity and longevity specialist Dr. Lael Forbes offers a brief explainer on the many ways that BMI falls short as a diagnostic indicator and basis for treatment, and discusses the much more reliable metric that she has employed over decades of clinical experience for evaluating and treating obesity.

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