Lipedema is a fat/lymphatic disease involving abnormal fat deposition resulting in pain, immobility, and lymphatic disturbances. With obesity reaching epidemic proportions and anti-fat bias prevalent in healthcare, it becomes critical that patients are correctly diagnosed and that resources are invested in understanding this disease and how it can be treated.

Lipedema primarily affects women. It initiates at times of hormonal disturbance, puberty, pregnancy, peri-menopause, and with gynecological surgery.

Lipedema Project is the research division of Lipedema Simplified that provides extensive offerings of research, resources, and expertise to individuals with lipedema and the providers who care for them. Mark L. Smith, MD, FACS partnered with Catherine Seo, PhD and together they founded Lipedema Project in 2014 to fill the need for rigorous science to understand, define, & treat lipedema.

They sponsored and produced the First International Symposium on Lipedema – Setting the Research Agenda for Lipedema: Steps Towards a Cure held in April 2015 in New York City. The renowned documentary, Lipedema – The Disease They Call FAT, premiered during this symposium and has now been viewed over 4 million times, raising awareness about lipedema.

LIPEDEMA PROJECT’S MISSION: Raise awareness through advocacy, education, and research to improve women’s lives with lipedema and related disorders.

LIPEDEMA PROJECT’S VISION: Be the voice for women living with lipedema.

Siobhan Huggins

Siobhan Huggins
Research Specialist, Lipedema Project & Lipedema Simplified

Siobhan is a passionate researcher and metabolic health advocate who specializes in cholesterol, inflammation, and lipedema. As a Research Specialist at Lipedema Project & Lipedema Simplified, she’s dedicated to raising awareness about underrecognized conditions. With both personal experience and scientific insight, Siobhan brings a compassionate, evidence-based perspective to research.

Her journey began in 2016 with a ketogenic diet that helped her reverse abdominal obesity and resolve chronic symptoms, igniting a deep curiosity about how nutrition impacts disease.

After being diagnosed with lipedema in 2021, she shifted her focus to this misunderstood condition and quickly became a respected voice in the community. Siobhan speaks at conferences and explores how keto and low-carb strategies may offer real hope.

contact: [email protected]

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Life with Lipedema

“The numbness, the pins and needles, my legs are just not normal.”

~Amanda, Stage 2 Lipedema

“It just didn’t make any sense to me that I had lost so much weight, I was eating and exercising better than ever, and still my legs and hips didn’t change.”

~Lisa Marie, Stage 2 Lipedema

“People look at me and just say ‘lose weight.’  It’s not that simple. It’s not my fault.”

~Ivonne, Stage 3 Lipedema

About The Lipedema Project

The Lipedema Project the research division of Lipedema Simplified devoted to increasing awareness and providing education, research, and treatment for lipedema through online and face-to-face programs and community-building.

The Lipedema Project was founded in 2014 by Dr. Mark L. Smith, MD, FACS and Catherine Seo, PhD to begin the research and treatment for lipedema, a chronic fat disorder. Lipedema is a disease involving abnormal fat deposition resulting in pain, immobility, and lymphatic disturbances. Lipedema progresses over time often developing lymphedema, a chronic condition called lipo-lymphedema.

With obesity reaching epidemic proportions and anti-fat bias prevalent in healthcare, it becomes critical that patients are correctly diagnosed, that resources are invested in understanding this disease and how it can be treated, and that patients have the support, knowledge, and options to manage these chronic conditions.

The lipedema documentary is available for viewing on Facebook, Lipedema – The Disease They Call FAT.
The book is available on Amazon, Lipedema – The Disease They Call FAT: An Overview for Clinicians.