Health-tech and care-model analysis
Massively Better Healthcare
Started publishing Sep 2020
Halle Tecco is especially good at explaining how obesity care gets built, sold, reimbursed, and scaled. If you want to understand telehealth GLP-1 companies, payer pressure, startup behavior, and the business logic behind the care models patients keep running into, this is one of the sharper reads in the category. It is less about day-to-day prescribing and more about the machinery around modern obesity treatment.
Author or brandHalle Tecco
External sourcehttps://halletecco.substack.com/
Obesity-medicine and access-system analysis
Michael Albert, MD
Started publishing Jun 2024
Michael Albert is one of the clearest outside reads if you want obesity medicine discussed as a serious clinical category instead of a consumer trend. He writes about access, telehealth, employers, surgery, GLP-1 care, and the difference between evidence-based treatment and weight-loss marketing. Readers who want sharp, on-topic analysis without a wellness gloss should spend time here.
Author or brandMichael Albert, MD
External sourcehttps://medium.com/@MichaelAlbertMD
Specialist obesity treatment and guideline coverage
ObesityInsights
Started publishing May 2024
This is one of the better specialist reads in the whole set if you want obesity treatment coverage that actually stays focused on obesity treatment. It is especially useful for guidelines, pharmacotherapy, and the policy side of clinical obesity care. Readers who want a tighter specialist lens rather than broad wellness or business coverage should start here.
Author or brandDr. Megha Poddar
External sourcehttps://obesityinsights.substack.com/
Exercise, muscle, and metabolic context
Built to Move, Born to Heal: Notes on Midlife Fitness
Started publishing Jan 2021
Howard Luks is worth reading if you care about what happens after the first burst of weight loss. His work is especially good on exercise, muscle, mobility, and the physical tradeoffs that can get lost in more medication-centered coverage. This is a strong companion read for people trying to connect weight loss with long-term function and strength.
Author or brandHoward Luks, MD
External sourcehttps://howardluksmd.substack.com/
Patient narrative and community perspective
GLP-1 Chronicles
Started publishing Jan 2025
GLP-1 Chronicles is useful because it sounds like a person, not a health system. The writing captures lived experience, setbacks, milestones, and the emotional texture around treatment in a way more formal publications usually do not. Read it when you want the patient-side view of this category, not institutional analysis.
Author or brandGLP-1 Chronicles
External sourcehttps://medium.com/glp-1-chronicles
Clinician-scientist analysis
Ground Truths
Started publishing Jan 2020
Eric Topol’s newsletter is broader than obesity medicine, but it is still useful when GLP-1s, cardiometabolic health, and major shifts in medicine start to overlap. Read it for high-level context, strong interviews, and a physician-scientist view of where the category fits inside the bigger healthcare story. It is a good companion source when you want perspective, not just treatment chatter.
Author or brandEric Topol
External sourcehttps://erictopol.substack.com/
Longevity and cardiometabolic explainers with GLP-1 crossover
Longevity Newsletter by Dr. Poonam Desai
Started publishing Feb 2025
Poonam Desai’s newsletter sits at the longevity and cardiometabolic edge of the category. It is a good fit for readers who want GLP-1 coverage framed through prevention, side effects, and broader metabolic health rather than through obesity medicine alone. Expect a wellness-forward perspective with enough direct GLP-1 relevance to be useful.
Author or brandPoonam Desai, DO
External sourcehttps://drpoonamdesai.substack.com/
Obesity specialist and care-model operator perspective
Rami Bailony
Started publishing Jan 2020
Rami Bailony writes from inside obesity medicine, and that makes the coverage more useful than the publication’s size might suggest. The pieces stay close to treatment design, patient experience, and the difference between meaningful obesity care and generic weight-loss messaging. It is a smaller desk, but a very on-topic one for readers who want specialist perspective with real operating context.
Author or brandRami Bailony, MD
External sourcehttps://rami-bailony.medium.com/
Critical and advocacy-oriented obesity commentary
Weight and Healthcare
Started publishing Jan 2023
Ragen Chastain’s newsletter is a deliberate counterweight to mainstream obesity and GLP-1 coverage. Readers will find skepticism, anti-stigma arguments, and a very different read on weight-centric care than they get from most medical or business publications. You may not agree with every conclusion, but it is a useful source when you want to test the assumptions driving the rest of the category.
Author or brandRagen Chastain
External sourcehttps://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/
Primary care and anti-stigma obesity framing
Your Doctor Friend by Mara Gordon
Started publishing Jan 2022
Mara Gordon’s writing is useful if you want a more humane and less weight-fixated way of thinking about care. The newsletter is strongest when it pushes back on stigma, over-simplified weight talk, and the idea that obesity care should be reduced to a single number on the scale. It is a strong read for anyone who wants the patient-trust side of this category, not just the product side.
Author or brandMara Gordon, MD
External sourcehttps://maragordonmd.substack.com/
Lifestyle medicine with occasional GLP-1 crossover
Are You Okay?
Started publishing Apr 2020
Lucy McBride writes for readers who want health coverage that still feels grounded in real life. The newsletter is not centered on obesity treatment, but when it touches GLP-1s or weight-related questions the tone is practical, calm, and easy to follow. It works best for readers who want a broader primary-care lens around the category.
Author or brandLucy McBride, MD
External sourcehttps://lucymcbride.substack.com/
Preventive cardiology with cardiometabolic overlap
Danielle Belardo M.D.
Started publishing Mar 2021
Danielle Belardo is most useful when you want weight-loss treatment placed in a broader cardiometabolic frame. The writing connects GLP-1 therapy, preventive cardiology, blood pressure, and lifestyle change in a way that helps readers see how weight care fits into overall risk reduction. It is better as a crossover read than as a dedicated obesity-only source, but that overlap is exactly why it earns a place here.
Author or brandDanielle Belardo, MD
External sourcehttps://d-belardo-md.medium.com/
Evidence-based medicine and policy commentary
Greg Katz, MD
Started publishing Jan 2024
Greg Katz is most useful when the category spills into bigger questions about evidence, policy, or how medicine gets explained in public. He is not writing a specialist obesity newsletter, but he is good at sharpening the way readers think about claims and tradeoffs. This is a solid adjacent read for people who care about the quality of the argument, not just the headline.
Author or brandGreg Katz, MD
External sourcehttps://gregorykatz.substack.com/
Lifestyle medicine and metabolic-health coaching
The Habit Healers
Started publishing Mar 2025
The Habit Healers is useful for readers who want more than medication talk. The writing leans into habits, nutrition, lifestyle medicine, and metabolic health, which makes it a good complement to more drug-heavy coverage. If you want practical context around how treatment fits into daily life, this is a worthwhile crossover read.
Author or brandLaurie Marbas, MD
External sourcehttps://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/
Small medical-content brand with obesity articles
YourMD.online
Started publishing Mar 2024
YourMD.online is a smaller publication, but it does publish clear obesity and GLP-1 explainers that can still be useful to general readers. It is not the first source to reach for if you want specialist depth, though it can be helpful when you want a simpler, more accessible overview. Think of it as a supporting read rather than a lead authority.
Author or brandYourMD.online
External sourcehttps://medium.com/yourmd-online
Medical journalism with occasional obesity crossover
Medicine Uncovered
Started publishing Oct 2024
Medicine Uncovered is broader medical journalism first and a GLP-1 source second. It is worth tracking when obesity treatment starts crossing into larger reporting questions around medicine, health systems, and public understanding. This is a better fit for readers who want occasional strong reporting than for people looking for a dedicated obesity beat.
Author or brandSimar Bajaj
External sourcehttps://medicineuncovered.substack.com/
Broad physician-creator lens with occasional GLP-1 overlap
Mental Health Movement
Started publishing Jan 2023
Jake Goodman’s publication is mostly about mental health and public-facing medicine, not obesity treatment. It still earns a place here because the GLP-1 pieces are accessible, widely shared, and written for readers who want straightforward answers instead of specialist jargon. Think of it as a general-audience crossover source, not a dedicated obesity desk.
Author or brandJake Goodman, MD
External sourcehttps://jakegoodmanmd.substack.com/