Thursday, 11 June 2026 - Event Agenda

This session examines how breakthrough GLP-1 receptor agonists and novel combination therapies are transforming obesity treatment paradigms, elevating patient outcomes, reshaping clinical expectations, and establishing obesity as a medically manageable chronic disease requiring long-term pharmaceutical intervention.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding how advanced GLP-1s and dual/triple agonists achieve superior weight loss and metabolic improvements, including their effects on appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular benefits beyond traditional interventions.

• Navigating prescribing guidelines, managing patient expectations for long-term therapy, addressing access and affordability challenges, and integrating pharmacotherapy with lifestyle interventions for optimal sustainable outcomes.

Dr Mais Hussein

Medical Director
Alora Health

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Dr Alex Craven

Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon and Medical Lead or Elective Surgery Reform
Austin Health

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This panel examines patient selection, surgical indications, and whether current practice aligns with the evolving evidence base — drawing on perspectives from both public and private hospital settings.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding how advanced GLP-1s and dual/triple agonists achieve superior weight loss and metabolic improvements, including their effects on appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular benefits beyond traditional interventions.

• Where current clinical habits across public and private settings diverge from the latest evidence, and what it will take to close that gap.

Dr Michael Devadas

Upper Gastrointestinal, General & Metabolic Surgeon
Norwest Private Hospital

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Dr Nicholas Cocco

Bariatric Surgeon
Westmead Private Hospital

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Dr Alex Craven

Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon and Medical Lead or Elective Surgery Reform
Austin Health

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Fast, focused, and energising — speed networking is your chance to meet fellow attendees, exchange ideas, and spark new collaborations with your metabolic healthcare professionals

Fuel up, connect, and explore - your chance to grab a coffee, meet solution partners, and spark new conversations across Australia’s obesity care community

Refuel, reconnect, and recharge — take this opportunity to meet peers from across Australia’s health, research, and policy community, exchange ideas, and spark fresh conversations shaping the future of obesity and metabolic health.

This session unpacks the National Heart Foundation of Australia’s clinical consensus on the link between obesity and cardiovascular disease. It highlights what the guidance means for prevention, risk assessment, and patient management in real-world settings.

Key Takeaways:

• Obesity should be managed as a key cardiovascular risk factor, not just a lifestyle issue.

• The consensus provides clear, evidence-based direction to support earlier and more consistent clinical intervention.

This session Provides clinical insights into the complex management of obesity throughout reproductive stages, examining evidence-based approaches for weight optimisation during preconception, fertility treatments, pregnancy, and postpartum periods while balancing maternal-fetal health outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding how obesity affects fertility, ovulation, pregnancy complications, and metabolic health, plus strategies for safe preconception weight management and timing interventions to improve conception rates and pregnancy outcomes.

• Navigating appropriate gestational weight gain targets, managing obesity-related pregnancy complications, addressing postpartum weight retention, and safely integrating pharmacological or surgical interventions across different reproductive stages without compromising maternal or infant health.

Inoka Perera

Fertility and Prenatal Dietitian
Western Sydney local Health District

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Fuel up, connect, and explore — your chance to grab a coffee, meet peers across Australia’s health and policy community, and spark new conversations shaping the future of metabolic health.

How nutritionists and psychologists collaborate to develop individualised treatment strategies, integrating tailored dietary approaches based on metabolic profiles with psychological interventions addressing behavioural patterns, emotional eating, and sustainable lifestyle change.

Marjan Mazaheri

Psychologist
MedSurg Weight Loss

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Inoka Perera

Fertility and Prenatal Dietitian
Western Sydney local Health District

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Dr Mais Hussein

Medical Director
Alora Health

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Join fellow delegates for a relaxed close to the day — connect with peers from across Australia’s health, research, and policy community, reflect on key takeaways, and continue the conversations shaping the future of obesity and metabolic health.