The Light & Shade of GLP-1s
About this Event
An advanced practitioner conference for nutritional therapists, healthcare practitioners, and integrative health professionals
Nature designed food to be nourishing, enjoyable, and health-promoting. Our biology evolved in tandem with nature, rewarding us for fuelling our bodies with energy-dense foods. But in an environment where food is always available and has been engineered to taste better than ever before, food has instead become damaging, addictive, and disease-promoting.
Obesity and weight management are multi-factorial issues, rooted in our innate human behaviours and influenced by our modern environment, hunger and appetite regulation, hedonic networks, complex metabolic and genetic factors, and even the state of our microbiome.
We have been facing an obesity epidemic that no single diet or exercise programme has been able to tackle effectively. All of that has changed with the arrival of GLP-1 medications.
With a once-weekly injection, appetite is diminished, constant food noise is gone, and weight loss feels effortless. It is no surprise that the use of GLP-1 medications has been growing. GLP-1s are here to stay and as practitioners, we must adapt.
At this conference, a panel of leading clinical and industry experts will explore:
• An overview of GLP-1 medications, including how they work, their effectiveness, side effects, and how to manage them, as well as an update on emerging oral therapies.
• A unique insight from a successful Nutrition & Weight Loss Clinic, sharing an approach to effective, natural weight loss
• How genetics shape our relationship with food, from the hormones that govern hunger and satiety to the neurotransmitters that drive what, when, and why we eat.
• Behavioural factors in GLP-1 supported weight loss, including the management of ‘food noise’ and positive behaviour change, illustrated through a case study.
• The remarkable metabolic potential of the gut and oral microbiomes, and their influence on satiety signalling, energy regulation, glucose control, and natural GLP-1 production.
Join us for a full day of education, bringing together the latest clinical insights and practical approaches to support clients who are using these medications, trying to come off them, or choosing to avoid them altogether.
Registration from 9:15am for a prompt 10am start. The event runs until 5:30pm and consists of 5 hours applied CPD (BANT, NNA, ANP).
Lunch & refreshments: Tea, coffee & healthy snacks are provided at registration & breaks. We will also provide a nutritious gluten & dairy free lunch with vegan options available.
Travel Tips: Nearest tube stations are Moorgate, Bank and Mansion House. From Moorgate, walk south towards the City, continue towards London Wall and turn onto Basinghall Avenue. The venue, 1 Basinghall Avenue, is located close to the Guildhall area. Bank and Mansion House are also within walking distance, with Liverpool Street and St Paul’s nearby for additional rail and tube connections.
Venue Information
Map
Agenda
🕑: 09:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Opening from BioCare
🕑: 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
GLP-1s Unpacked – Miracle Tool or Metabolic Trade-off?
Host: with Dr Shamila Wanninayake
Info: This talk provides an overview of current GLP-1 weight-management medications, including how they work, their effectiveness, and their growing use within both the NHS and private healthcare. As obesity and cardiometabolic disease place increasing pressure on health systems, understanding the benefits and limitations of these treatments is an important clinical and public health priority. The session will cover side effects and safety, drawing on emerging research evidence and real-world clinical experience. We will discuss common side effects and how to manage them, as well as less frequent but clinically significant complications such as gallbladder disease and pancreatitis. The impact of GLP-1s on body composition, potential nutritional deficiencies and changes to the gut microbiome will also be explored. Finally, we will consider the future of obesity pharmacotherapy, including new oral agents in development, current research directions and the evolving NHS strategy.
🕑: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Break
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
Insights From A Successful Weight Loss Clinic
Host: with Kim Pearsons
Info: As GLP-1 medications continue to dominate the conversation around weight loss, where do nutrition and lifestyle practitioners fit in? In this session, nutritionist Kim Pearson explores why there remains a vital role for supporting people after GLP-1 use, as well as the many individuals who either do not meet prescribing criteria or simply want a natural approach to weight loss.
Drawing on the latest research, her book The Nozempic Diet and her clinical experience, Kim shares the nutrition and lifestyle strategies she uses to help clients achieve sustainable results. She explores the impact of sleep and circadian rhythms on weight regulation, her approach to long term maintenance, and the practical systems behind her clinic, including programme design and membership. The session also considers what needs to change at a public health level if we are serious about tackling the obesity epidemic beyond Medic*tion alone.
🕑: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PM
Buffet lunch
🕑: 01:45 PM - 02:45 PM
Signal Versus Noise – Decoding the Genetic Signals Behind Appetite
Host: with Emma Beswick
Info: In an age of abundant food, relentless dietary messaging and the rapid rise of GLP-1 weight loss medications, understanding the body's own appetite signals has never been more relevant. This talk explores how genetics shape our relationship with food at the most fundamental level — from the hormones that govern hunger and satiety, to the neurotransmitters that drive what, when and why we eat. Drawing on the brain–gut axis, we examine how variants in key genes such as LEPR and FTO influence sensitivity to leptin and ghrelin, the 'fed' and 'fasted' hormones that sit at the heart of the same pathway GLP-1 drugs are designed to target. We also explore the roles of serotonin and dopamine — the neurotransmitters of satiety and reward-driven eating — and the genetic variants that govern their synthesis and breakdown.
🕑: 02:45 PM - 03:45 PM
Exploring Behavioural Factors in GLP-1 Supported Weight Loss
Host: with Lindsey Fellows
Info: Exploring Behavioural Factors in GLP-1 Supported
Weight Loss: The Management of ‘Food Noise’ and
Positive Behaviour Change - The exponential rise of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications has created a new landscape for health professionals to contemplate, navigate and evaluate. For clinically trained nutrition practitioners working with clients using weight-loss medications, or managing weight loss after Medic*tion use, these treatments can add complexity to the process. This talk explores the implications of Medic*tion use on the behavioural factors underpinning weight loss. It will consider a Nutritional Therapist’s use of behaviour change theory, strategies and techniques in clinical practice, including Stages of Change, Transactional Analysis and affirmations from Motivational Interviewing. A case study will offer insight into the lived experience of food noise, what it means, and its role in habit formation, managing rapid weight loss and sustaining long-term weight maintenance.
🕑: 03:45 PM - 04:15 PM
Break
🕑: 04:15 PM - 05:15 PM
Why the Microbiome Matters
Host: with Jules Cattell
Info: Why the Microbiome Matters – A Natural
Approach to Appetite Regulation and Long
lasting Weight Management - As GLP-1 receptor agonists increasingly dominate the weight management landscape, the metabolically powerful microbial allies we have within us, are slipping from the spotlight. This session explores the remarkable metabolic potential of the gut and oral microbiomes and their influence on satiety signalling, energy regulation, glucose control and natural GLP-1 production. We will discuss how specific microbial metabolites, including short-chain-fatty-acids, bile acid derivatives and other signalling molecules can support or disrupt health weight regulation, and how, by creating optimal conditions for beneficial microbes to thrive - through diet, lifestyle and supplement choices - we can work with the body's innate biology to support sustainable appetite regulation and long-lasting weight management.
🕑: 05:15 PM - 05:30 PM
Close from BioCare
Where is it happening?
GBP 99.00 to GBP 129.00
