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Meet Alicia Tucker, M.D., F.A.A.P., ABOM

Founder, Improving Diet, Energy and Activity for Life (IDEAL) Clinic: Pediatric Weight Management Program

Alicia Tucker, M.D., FAAP, ABOMAlicia Tucker, M.D., F.A.A.P., ABOM, was diagnosed with a heart defect as a child, leading to many hospital visits throughout her treatment journey. During her inpatient stays, she saw firsthand the intricate components involved in patient care and healing, sparking a fascination in the medical field that forever shaped her future. 

Given her lifelong interest in pediatric healthcare, she attended medical school at Drexel University College of Medicine. In the beginning of her career, she believed cardiology was the right focus for her – until she started her residency here at Children’s National Hospital. 

She recalls working on a project assessing the effects of weight on children and young adults with congenital heart defects.

“It was really fascinating to me, the degree of impact that excess weight and obesity was having on these kids and teens and young adults,” Dr. Tucker says, adding that the effects of obesity often had more of an impact on their quality of life and ability to participate in activities than their heart defect in many cases. As she learned more about the field, she quickly discovered that while there was a large focus on obesity prevention, there was an overall lack of obesity treatment programs across the country, despite the critical need. 

That need is one of the reasons that Children’s National founded the Improving Diet, Energy and Activity for Life (IDEAL) Clinic, where Dr. Tucker now works as an attending pediatrician. The IDEAL Clinic is a pediatric weight management, weight-loss and health education program committed to preventing and treating childhood obesity. While this work began at Children’s National approximately two decades ago, the significant demand for this program remains. 

“I would say on the whole, people are generally very grateful that we exist,” Dr. Tucker says, “Not only because the program offers treatment, but also because it provides a safe space for pediatric patients who are struggling with weight complications.” 

Dr. Tucker says patients and their families frequently come in feeling defeated. They know what they should be doing to lose weight but it’s just not working, or they lack the access or means to proper nutrition. The IDEAL clinic is able to offer patients more intensive nutrition support with dedicated registered dieticians and access to medical providers that can offer medication and surgical treatment options for weight loss when medically indicated.

“The things that patients say are very heartbreaking a lot of the times, and so I think it is often a relief for families that we can say, ‘We understand the biology of this. We understand that it's complicated.' We understand that diet and exercise are important for everyone regardless of weight and that is the cornerstone of what we do, but there are biological differences for some people where they cannot lose weight even if they are living a healthy lifestyle. Patients and families are often so relieved when we can say 'I believe you that you're doing all those right things, and we can talk about what other options are out there,’" Dr. Tucker says. "I want to emphasize that not everyone we see needs to lose weight, a variety of health markers are taken into account and what is a healthy weight for one person may be unhealthy for another. But for patients whose health and quality of life is impacted by excess weight our team fills a crucial role in their healthcare."

Dr. Tucker says approaching conversations in this fashion is crucial to helping and gaining the trust of children and teens  who have often felt targeted or have experienced bullying because of their weight. She says to provide proper care there needs to be a balance between recognizing weight bias and providing the treatment that is needed. 

“Weight bias and stigma is real, and we must be aware of that. We must recognize that the medical profession as a whole has done a lot of harm in this area… and people will avoid healthcare settings for that reason. So, it is definitely a concern that needs to be recognized. On the flip side of that, we have a lot of data that says that there is a point where excess weight causes health complications, and it is a factor in a lot of people's health conditions,” she says. 

“I think we have to find better language to talk to our patients about it, while also letting them know we understand it's a challenge, and we understand that certain things are not going to work for everyone, and that there's other treatments out there.”

Dr. Tucker says some of her proudest moments happen when she is able to pass on her career knowledge and her dedication to fighting weight stigma either working with residents here at Children’s National, working with medical students as a pediatric faculty member and director of the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences Culinary Medicine Program, or at conferences around the country, like the annual American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) conference. At AAP, Dr. Tucker presented the pros and cons of utilizing the BMI curve in pediatrics, and discussed an alternative way to view BMI trends that can help treat patients without compromising their trust. 

Thank you, Dr. Tucker, for your passion for pediatric care and your commitment to breaking down weight biases in healthcare.