When Food Doesn’t Get Easier: Eating Disorders, Bariatrics & GLP-1s with Rhian Houghton, RD

In this clinician-focused episode of Inside Bariatrics, Aoife is joined by Rhian Houghton, Registered Dietitian, to explore the often-overlooked intersection between bariatric care, eating disorders, disordered eating, and GLP-1 medications.

Together, they discuss how relationship with food can become more complex before and after bariatric surgery, why eating disorders can go under-recognised in bariatric settings, and the importance of trauma-informed, collaborative, and permission-based approaches to care.

This episode may be particularly relevant for bariatric clinicians, dietitians, psychologists, and healthcare professionals working across weight management, obesity, GLP-1, and eating disorder services - though anyone interested in these topics is welcome to listen.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The overlap between bariatric surgery, disordered eating, and eating disorders
• Why binge eating and loss of control eating can persist, change, or re-emerge after surgery
• Restriction, emotional eating, and relationship with food before and after bariatric surgery
• How eating disorders can go unnoticed in bariatric and weight management settings
• Using motivational interviewing and permission-based conversations in practice
• Trauma-informed care in dietetic and bariatric settings
• Challenges referring between bariatric and eating disorder services
• The growing intersection between GLP-1 medications and eating behaviour support
• Why clinician supervision matters in complex nutrition and behaviour change work

Resources mentioned

• Intuitive Eating — Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
• Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness — Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness by Dawn Clifford and Laura Curtis
• Eating disorder training by Marci Evans

Connect / Training

Aoife and Rhian offer clinician training for NHS, HSE, and private practice teams on:

Eating Disorders in the context of Bariatric Surgery and GLP-1 Medications

For training enquiries, please get in touch directly: Contact