UF physician first in area to be board-certified in obesity medicine

Richard Shriner, M.D., has become the first University of Florida physician to earn board certification in obesity medicine from the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

Shriner, who is already board-certified in adult psychiatry and internal medicine, is the only physician in Gainesville who holds this certification, joining a select group of 55 obesity medicine physicians across the state.

Physicians who are board-certified in obesity medicine must not only understand the treatment of obesity, but also grasp the genetic, biologic, environmental, social and behavioral factors that contribute to it, according to the board.

Shriner is the chief psychiatrist at Shands Vista. He is also an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry within UF’s College of Medicine and the program director for UF’s eating disorders and obesity programs.

“My interest is bariatric medicine,” Shriner said. “We have bariatric surgery but we don’t have bariatric medicine or bariatric psychiatry. I felt it was necessary to fuse the treatments.”

Shriner, who has been at UF for almost four years, has 12 years of experience in treating patients struggling with obesity. He specializes in the treatment of diabetes, obesity and weight management issues.

“All hospitals right now need to take a look at obesity. It’s a national and international epidemic,” Shriner said.

Besides his years of experience in the field, Shriner took about a year of pre-board courses to prepare for the exam, which he took in late 2012, he said.

Shriner is a graduate of Brown University, Indiana University, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago.

For more information about Shriner, visit his website at www.drrichardshriner.com. To request an appointment, visit ufhealth.org or call 352-265-4357.