A new podcast is set to explore the medical realities around the complex issue of obesity, and the very real impact it has on women’s lives.
Launching this week, The Check Up with Woman’s Day promises unfiltered discussions about the medical realities of living in a larger body, the stigma women face, and the personal journeys of those determined to reclaim their health and identity.
The Check Up’s First Ep
The first of the new six-part series features a sit down with Married At First Sight star Katie Johnston, 37, who was publicly and cruelling fat-shamed during her time on the 2025 series of the hit show.
Katie who opens up about how trauma shaped her relationship with food, body image, and self-worth.
In a raw conversation, she reveals how binge eating and weight gain became a protective shield after sexual assault and how that shield led to isolation, shame, and health risks.
The MAFS star, originally from Queensland, tells how a type of body composition scan, known as a DEXA, led to her shedding kilos.
‘I knew I was overweight, like it was obvious visually,’ Katie says. ‘But when I got the scan and it told me, like, my visceral fat levels were, like, really dangerously high, and basically the only good thing in my body was my skeletal density.’
Visceral fat is the fat around the body’s organs, and high levels of it are linked to higher levels of inflammation, higher blood pressures, increased cholesterol, pre-diabetes and diabetes.
And Katie’s results meant her GP gave her some sobering news. ‘He’s like yeah, this is what visceral fat means and this is what it can cause if you keep going down the road you’re going down,’ she says. ‘And that’s an early death…
‘That really shocked me. That was the shock I needed to take this journey very seriously.’
Speaking to podcast host Woman’s Day Editor Katherine Chatfield, Katie credited a big part of her success to her efforts to keep her ‘hunger noise’ under control, and ending ‘self-soothing’ eating. Now, the bubbly redhead says she’s transformed her fitness levels, and rediscovered her love of salsa dancing and is enjoying rock climbing
Expert Insights
This podcast doesn’t shy away from the hard facts.
Obesity and metabolic health expert Dr. Georgia Regas explains how trauma can influence weight, why obesity should be treated with compassion and medical understanding — not judgment — and how empathy and the right support can make all the difference in improving women’s health, fitness and well-being.
Why You Should Listen
This is not another diet podcast. It’s about real women, real experiences, and the medical science that can empower change.
With frank conversations, expert advice, and stories of resilience, it’s a series that will leave listeners informed, inspired, and ready to challenge old assumptions about weight and health.
The first episode of The Check Up with Woman’s Day drops this week on all major podcast platforms. Don’t miss it!
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