Adiposity-Based Chronic Disease (ABCD) is a modern medical term that recognises obesity as a long-term, treatable health condition caused by excess or unhealthy body fat (called adiposity).

It’s not just about how much you weigh, but how body fat affects your health. When fat tissue becomes excessive or starts to function abnormally, it can lead to problems such as inflammation, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, joint pain, and other metabolic or mechanical conditions. This framework helps doctors focus on improving your overall health, not simply reducing weight.

At Perth Weight Clinic, we use the ABCD approach to guide personalised treatment that targets the underlying causes of weight gain and supports long-term wellbeing.

Your assessment at Perth Weight Clinic is a comprehensive medical and metabolic evaluation designed to understand the factors influencing your weight, health, and wellbeing. Every person’s situation is different, so we take the time to explore your unique biology, lifestyle, and health history before recommending treatment.

Your assessment may include:

• A detailed medical consultation We discuss your health history, weight changes over time, medications, lifestyle factors, eating patterns, sleep, stress and any medical conditions that may affect weight or metabolism.

• Metabolic assessment This includes indirect calorimetry (ECAL) to measure your resting metabolic rate and assess how efficiently your body uses fat for fuel (separate appointment needed).

• Body composition analysis Using bioimpedance scanning, we measure fat mass, lean muscle mass, visceral fat levels and fluid balance to guide safe and effective treatment.

• Metabolic and health screening Depending on your needs, we may arrange blood tests, metabolic markers, hormone profiles, or cardiovascular and diabetes risk assessments.

• Assessment of appetite patterns We explore satiety (fullness), hunger drivers, and eating behaviour to understand how your biology may influence appetite regulation. This enables us to tailor treatment according to appetite regulation.

• Goal setting and personalised planning Together, we outline your priorities and identify the most appropriate treatment options for your health, lifestyle, and long-term goals.

Your assessment provides the foundation for a personalised, evidence-based treatment plan that supports both metabolic health and sustainable results. If you have specific questions before your appointment, our team is always happy to help. Learn more about your assessment here.

For decades, healthcare advice and public health programs have focused on the idea that weight loss simply requires eating less and exercising more. While this may lead to short-term results, the body naturally adapts — slowing metabolism and increasing hunger signals — which can cause many people to regain weight over time. Achieving clinically meaningful weight loss that is sustainable over time often needs a medical approach that goes beyond healthy eating and being physically active.

This cycle of weight loss and regain can be frustrating and discouraging, often leaving individuals feeling as though they have failed, when in reality the problem lies in how the condition has been treated, not in personal willpower.

At Perth Weight Clinic, we believe that personalised treatment is the key to lasting results. We don’t expect you to rely on willpower, extreme motivation, or restrictive diets. Instead, our focus is on safe, sustainable, and medically supported treatments that address the underlying causes of weight gain and help you achieve meaningful, long-term improvements in health and wellbeing.

Treatment may include a combination of strategies to achieve behaviour change around the principle pillars of health - nutrition, physical activity, sleep and mental wellbeing. Some clients may need adjunctive therapies such as pharmacotherapies (medication) or metabolic bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) to support the shift in behaviour to achieve long term sustainable weight loss.

Our team includes AHPRA-registered medical and allied health practitioners qualified and experienced in diagnosing and treating the spectrum of physical and mental health conditions that may occur alongside obesity.

At Perth Weight Clinic, we understand that weight management isn’t just about losing weight — it’s about improving overall health. Many of our clients experience meaningful health gains through the treatment of both obesity and its related conditions.

Our clinicians are skilled in managing medical, psychological, and psychiatric conditions associated with obesity, including:

• Cardiovascular, kidney, liver, and metabolic diseases

• Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety

• Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours

You’ll receive care that is comprehensive, respectful, and evidence-based, focused on helping you improve your health, function, and quality of life.

Perth Weight Clinic is a private billing clinic. Consultation fees apply for all appointments.

Medicare rebates are available for all Medicare card holders for consultations with our medical and allied health practitioners.*

We do not offer fee concessions for concession card holders.

*For allied health consultations, Medicare rebates are available if you have a GP Chronic Condition Management (Care) Plan from your regular general practitioner.

If you have private health insurance, you may also be eligible for additional rebates, depending on your level of cover and your insurer’s terms and conditions.

We believe that practitioners offering treatment for obesity should have expertise in diagnosing and managing the wide range of health conditions that often accompany it.

We use advanced bioimpedence analysis and indirect calorimetry to accurately measure your body composition and metabolic health. These assessments give us objective clinical information about your health that guides how we choose treatments to optimise weight loss and health gain according to your metabolic profile. Otherwise, it's just guesswork.

At Perth Weight Clinic, we take a holistic and medical approach to weight management. Our practitioners are trained to diagnose and treat the full spectrum of health impairments that may occur alongside obesity, including psychological, cardiovascular, kidney, liver, metabolic, and orthopaedic conditions. We focus on improving health, not just weight.

Learn more about how we undertake a comprehensive assessment of your health here.