Dr. Christopher McGowan, MD, is the founder, medical director, and research director of True You Weight Loss and is globally recognized as an obesity thought leader, a trailblazer in the field of endoscopic bariatrics, and an innovator of advanced non-surgical treatments.
Renowned for pioneering the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) procedure and having performed more than 3,000 ESG procedures to date – more than any physician in the United States – Dr. McGowan is considered a national and international leader and a global influencer in endoscopic weight loss. His leadership, innovation, and research contributions define him as a top and trusted expert and a key opinion leader within this rapidly advancing field of medicine.
As a result of this expertise, Dr. McGowan has become a leading voice in the national discussion around obesity and weight loss. Throughout the medical community, Dr. McGowan serves as an advocate for eliminating the stigma around obesity, highlighting the importance of recognizing it as a disease – rather than a matter of willpower. He is routinely called upon by national media outlets to share his expertise and perspectives and has been featured on Good Morning America, ABC News, Today.com, Fox News, Healthline, NPR, NBC Nightly News, NewsNation, and Medical News Today, among many others.
At True You Weight Loss, Dr. McGowan uses a combination of procedural, medical, and nutritional therapies to help his patients lose weight and become the healthiest, happiest versions of themselves.
Expertise
Dr. Christopher McGowan brings more than 20 years of training, education, and expertise to the field of endobariatrics. He is one of the few physicians in the nation to hold active board certifications in three medical specialties – Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Obesity Medicine. Patients have traveled to Dr. McGowan from more than 48 states and 10 countries for his unrivaled expertise and care.
An expert among experts, Dr. McGowan frequently educates, mentors, and trains physician colleagues from all over the world on the precise techniques required for a successful endobariatric procedure. Not only has Dr. McGowan provided in-person education to thousands of colleagues, but he has also served and continues to serve, as a faculty educator for national endobariatric courses, including courses for the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the ASGE STAR Certification Program. Dr. McGowan has demonstrated his procedural techniques to global audiences at events such as the Bariatric Endoscopy Live Global (BELG), a live broadcast of bariatric endoscopy demonstrations from leading centers around the world. His techniques are considered “the standard” for ESG and are utilized for official training materials in the field.
Additionally, Dr. McGowan serves as the research director and principal investigator for numerous ongoing investigator-initiated, industry, and FDA studies. His own research has been featured in leading medical journals, such as the Gastroenterology, Obesity Surgery, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Endoscopy, VideoGIE, just to name a few. He is a frequent presenter at leading medical conferences, including Digestive Disease Week and the American College of Gastroenterology.
As a pioneer in endobariatrics, Dr. McGowan was the first gastroenterologist in North Carolina and one of the first physicians in the country to perform the ESG procedure, transoral outlet reduction, and endoscopic revision of sleeve gastrectomy. Likewise, he was one of the first physicians in the United States to place the Spatz3 Adjustable Gastric Balloon, for which he served as a principal investigator in the FDA post-approval study. Dr. McGowan has pioneered an entirely new treatment paradigm for obesity – gastric mucosal ablation – for which he has designed and led multiple first-in-human studies.
Education
Dr. McGowan received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and completed his internal medicine residency at Brown University, where he served as chief medical resident. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship training at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his fellowship, he received advanced training in epidemiology and clinical research methodology, culminating in a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Dr. McGowan is also certified in motivational interviewing, a goal-directed counseling style designed to help individuals resolve internal ambivalence and harness the motivation to create positive behavior change. This evidence-based method improves treatment outcomes by supporting patients while strengthening their motivations and well-being.
A fellow of the ASGE and American Gastroenterology Association, Dr. McGowan is ASGE STAR Certified in endoscopic suturing. He is also a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the Association for Bariatric Endoscopy, and the Obesity Medicine Association.
Free Time & Family Life
In his free time, Dr. McGowan enjoys all forms of exercise, including CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting. He can be seen working out each morning before the sun rises. His wife, Grace, is a hematologist at Duke University, and together they have two children.
Read online reviews for Dr. McGowan at Healthgrades, Vitals, and RateMDs.
