Obesity Physician · Clinician-Scientist · Advocate
Dr Nomathemba
Chandiwana
Obesity and weight-loss consultations for adults across South Africa, by in person / video consultation.
Obesity is a disease, not a failure of willpower. I combine evidence-based obesity medicine with two decades of African clinical research to help people understand their metabolic health and treat it properly.
From R900 · 30 minutes · in person / video · Monday to Thursday, 09:30–16:00 SAST
BSc, MBBCh, MPH, Dip HIV Man, Dip Child Health, PhD (Cand.)
20+
Years in medicine
1,963
Citations
18
h-index
Video
Consultations
Featured in Sunday Times · News24 · Channel 4 News · Bhekisisa · Spotlight
What I treat
Obesity Medicine
Comprehensive assessment and treatment of overweight and obesity, including GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide, appetite regulation, and long-term weight maintenance.
Metabolic & Cardiometabolic Health
Type 2 diabetes risk, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, fatty liver and obstructive sleep apnoea - assessed together rather than in isolation.
Weight Gain on HIV Treatment
Internationally recognised work on weight and metabolic change after antiretroviral therapy, and how to manage it safely in people living with HIV.
Women's Metabolic Health
Weight, hormones and life stage - from reproductive years through perimenopause - with attention to the realities of African women's health.
“Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease. Treating it well means treating the biology - not blaming the person.”
Dr Chandiwana is Chief Scientific Officer of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in Cape Town and a clinician-scientist whose research on weight, metabolism and HIV treatment has shaped national and international guidelines. She is a Commissioner on the Nature Medicine Commission on Data-Driven Management of Obesity and now sees patients by secure video.
Read her full storyAs featured in
All media- Eyewitness News · August 2026Diabetes becomes SA's leading cause of natural death, Stats SA data reveals
- Spotlight · July 2026People with HIV are living longer but have fewer years of good health - new guidelines aim to change that
- Sunday Times · August 2025Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana battles obesity, SA's new HIV epidemic
- Wits University · 2025Alumni spotlight: Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana
- News24 · March 2024Obesity and HIV: semaglutide should be rolled out in SA
- Spotlight · June 2023Taking a spoon to a knife fight: is SA ready for rising obesity rates?
Ready to treat your weight as the medical condition it is?
Thirty-minute consultations by in person / video, Monday to Thursday. Instant confirmation.
See available times