Aug. 24, 2026 — Preventive medicine is a key goal in healthcare. After all, if patients can prevent issues from snowballing in the first place, they are more likely to live longer, healthier lives.

“When we talk about the morbidity and mortality associated with obesity and related conditions, a lot of it is preventable,” said Amy Sheer, M.D. ’15, M.P.H., an associate professor in the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Medicine. “There is still a lot of stigma around obesity and how difficult it can be to treat. People sometimes think it is a failure of the person, but obesity is a chronic disease.”

Sheer said physicians should be talking with patients about metabolic health regardless of their size.

“It’s not just about weight,” she said. “Metabolic disease and obesity need to be part of the conversation about prevention.”

As program director for UF’s adult obesity medicine fellowship, Sheer leads the College of Medicine’s stronghold in preventive healthcare for obesity and related health complications, often serving as a national expert on popular weight loss medications and their potential impact on patients. Through Sheer’s clinical work and collaborations with other UF researchers, the College of Medicine has emerged as a trusted resource for information needed for better treatment.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1s, have recently been popularized for Type 2 diabetes and are now also commonly used for obesity and weight management. They mimic hormones involved in appetite and satiety, helping patients feel full sooner and stay full longer.

But Sheer said their benefits can extend beyond weight loss.

“Some of these medications now have indications for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea, and we also see important kidney and metabolic benefits,” she said. “There are a lot of reasons to use these medications beyond weight loss alone.”

GLP-1s are becoming increasingly more accessible and affordable for patients, Sheer said, and we are looking forward toward the next generation of obesity medications, including drugs that act on two or three hormone pathways, rather than one.

“That is exciting because obesity is not caused by one single pathway,” she said. “The more mechanisms we can target, the more options we may have to individualize treatment.”

At UF Health, Sheer works with specialists caring for patients whose weight may affect their eligibility for major procedures. That includes some patients with advanced heart failure who may need a ventricular assist device or heart transplant. Because body mass index, or BMI, can factor into transplant eligibility and surgical risk, losing weight can sometimes open the door to treatment.

Sheer and her collaborators are studying whether GLP-1 medications can help those patients lose enough weight to become eligible for lifesaving procedures. Using the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network, a collaboration among clinicians and patients from six affiliated health systems in six states, Sheer can look at outcomes in larger groups of patients across several health systems.

“UF is very fortunate to have OneFlorida+ data in addition to our own clinical data,” Sheer said. “A lot of our research ideas come directly from what we are seeing in clinical practice.”

Sheer is also collaborating with UF Health gynecologic oncologist Kaitlin Nicholson, M.D., on research involving patients with early uterine cancer or precancerous disease. Obesity is strongly associated with endometrial cancer, and the team is studying whether starting a GLP-1 medication alongside standard treatment may help patients lose weight and potentially improve treatment response.

“We’re asking what happens if we treat the obesity at the same time we start treatment for the cancer,” Sheer said. “Can we help patients achieve a negative biopsy or complete response sooner?”

Another large observational study from UF using real-world data from OneFlorida+ also found that GLP-1 medications were associated with a 17% lower cancer risk compared with the risk among those who did not take the drugs. Cancer incidence was lower for 12 of 13 obesity-related cancers, plus lung cancer.

Sheer participated in research shared by the American Heart Association this summer showing that GLP-1s may also have broader heart and metabolic effects. In an analysis of 26,000 adults, those with both obesity and an autoimmune disease who took GLP-1-based medications had fewer cardiac events, fewer emergency room visits and decreased mortality.

“For people who are overweight or living with obesity and an autoimmune disease, this study offers a hopeful signal that medications already in use today may be beneficial in reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease,” Sheer said.

Some UF research has even pointed GLP-1 use to protection against Alzheimer’s and treatment for depression.

In the three years since UF’s adult obesity fellowship was established, Sheer is excited about the synergistic energy around campus to move the needle on obesity patient care and research.  UF has since also started a pediatric obesity fellowship, headed by pediatric endocrinologist Angelina Bernier, M.D.

Sheer’s long-term goal is to help develop a comprehensive metabolic health center at UF Health, bringing together specialists who now often care for the same patients in separate clinics.

“It can be challenging to schedule appointments in multiple departments — you leave the door of one clinic and you can’t get in the door of another — and so what this would allow is us all to be under one roof, not so siloed in different buildings,” she said. “So we can all work better together.”

A shared center could bring obesity medicine specialists together with cardiologists, surgeons, dietitians, oncologists and other clinicians who regularly care for patients with obesity-related conditions. For Sheer, that is ultimately what obesity medicine is about: not simply helping patients lose weight, but using treatment to prevent disease, reduce complications and improve overall health.

“So much of this care overlaps,” Sheer said. “Having everyone working together would make it easier for patients and would allow us to take better care of them.”