Scale Up Your Practice by Obesity Canada – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we’re joined by global obesity expert Dr. Sean Wharton, lead author of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs). Dr. Wharton takes us behind the scenes of the CPG development process, shares what makes these guidelines groundbreaking, and dives into why obesity is a complex, chronic disease.

We also discuss shifting from outdated weight measures like BMI toward more patient-centered care approaches—and the importance of tackling weight bias and stigma head-on in clinical practice.

🎯 In this episode:

• The story behind Canada’s Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Why obesity is a chronic disease—and what that means for healthcare professionals

🎙️ This episode is sponsored. Obesity Canada received an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada to produce this episode. 🎙️

In the first episode of our Celebrating Canadian Excellence series, we sit down with one of Canada’s leading voices in obesity care—Dr. Sean Wharton,  internal medicine physician. pharmacist, and global obesity expert.

Dr. Wharton shares his personal journey into obesity medicine, the proud moments that fuel his work, and the most important takeaways for healthcare professionals navigating this complex, evolving field.

🎯 In this episode:

• How Dr. Wharton’s career path led him to obesity medicine

• His proudest moments as a clinician and advocate

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with Lisa Schaffer, Executive Director of Obesity Canada, to explore how the organization supports healthcare professionals and works to improve obesity care across Canada.

We also dive into a special "Bias Break" segment, where co-host Michelle McMillan reflects on taking the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) and what it revealed about hidden biases related to weight.

🎯 In this episode:

• How Obesity Canada supports healthcare professionals

• Clinical practice guidelines and eLearning tools you can access

• A candid conversation about implicit weight bias and how it shows up in care

Welcome to the very first episode of Scale Up Your Practice, the podcast created for healthcare professionals who want to deliver better, evidence-based obesity care.

In this kickoff episode, your hosts Dr. Roshan Abraham and Michelle McMillan share their personal journeys into obesity care, introduce Obesity Canada’s mission, and explain why this podcast is needed now more than ever.

You’ll also hear our first "Bias Break" segment—an honest reflection on weight bias and stigma in healthcare, and why tackling these barriers is critical to improving patient care.

🎯 In this episode:

• Why obesity is a chronic disease, not a choice

• How weight bias impacts care—and what we can do about it

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/uicXM

• Free Weight Bias and Stigma Course from Obesity Canada: https://utm.guru/uicXN

• Tell your provincial government it’s time to recognize obesity as a chronic disease: https://utm.guru/uicXO

Send us your questions or topic requests: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

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Thanks for listening—and stay tuned as we continue to scale up your practice.

Scale Up Your Practice is created by Obesity Canada. Learn more at obesitycanada.ca

🎙️ This episode is sponsored. Obesity Canada received an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada to produce this episode. 🎙️

In the second instalment of our Celebrating Canadian Excellence series, we’re joined by globally recognized psychologist and obesity expert Dr. Michael Vallis.

With deep expertise in behavioural medicine, Dr. Vallis shares his journey into the world of obesity care, what drives him personally and professionally, and what healthcare professionals need to understand to better support people living with obesity.

🎯 In this episode, Dr. Vallis discusses:

• What behavioural change really means in clinical practice

• Why empathy and relationship-building are the foundation of good care

• The one thing every clinician should remember when treating obesity

  
  

Whether you're a physician, allied health professional, or student, this episode offers insights that will help you approach obesity care with more compassion, nuance, and clarity.

Additional Resources Mentioned:

• Free Obesity Canada course with Dr. Vallis: Introduction to Behaviour Change Counselling for Obesity: https://utm.guru/uie2p 

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/uie2l

Want to hear more from Dr. Vallis?

He’ll be joining us again on April 10 for a deeper dive into his work with obesity management. Make sure you’re subscribed to be notified when we release new episodes!

Send us your questions or topic requests: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Enjoying the podcast? Here’s how you can support us:

✅ Share the episode with a colleague

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review—it helps more people find us

Thanks for listening—and stay tuned as we continue to scale up your practice.

Scale Up Your Practice is created by Obesity Canada. Learn more at obesitycanada.ca

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, registered psychologist and global obesity expert Dr. Michael Vallis returns to talk about a critical topic in obesity care: how we define success.

Too often, people living with obesity are made to feel like they’ve failed if they don’t achieve a specific number on the scale. But weight is not a behaviour—and it shouldn’t be the only marker of progress.

🎯 In this episode, we explore:

• Why success in obesity management should be personal and flexible

• How to help patients stop comparing their journey to others

• How reframing that weight is not a behaviour could change the treatment approach

• What healthcare professionals can say to support motivation and long-term engagement

• How to challenge societal narratives that tie weight to personal worth

We also pause for a Bias Break, where Dr. Vallis shares a recent experience with weight bias—and how subtle forms of stigma can still have a deep impact on patients and providers.

This episode is a must-listen for healthcare professionals who want to move beyond “one-size-fits-all” care and toward more compassionate, individualized obesity treatment.

Additional Resources Mentioned:

• Free Obesity Canada course with Dr. Vallis: Introduction to Behaviour Change Counselling for Obesity: https://utm.guru/uigGD

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/uigGB

Enjoying the podcast? Help us grow!

✅ Share this episode with a colleague

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review—it helps more people find the show

Send your topic ideas or questions to: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Thanks for tuning in—and stay with us as we continue to scale up your practice.

Scale Up Your Practice is created by Obesity Canada. Learn more at obesitycanada.ca.

How can we better support kids and families living with obesity? That’s the question we’re exploring in this episode—with help from the experts who helped write the new national guideline.

We’re joined by two of the key contributors behind this work: Dr. Geoff Ball, co-lead author and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, and Dr. Catherine Birken, Pediatrician and Research Scientist at SickKids in Toronto.

Together, they unpack what makes this guideline different, how it reflects the voices of children and families, and why it matters in everyday clinical practice.

🎯 In this episode: 

• Why the new pediatric guideline was created—and what’s changed

• How the guideline incorporates lived experience and values of families

• What “multicomponent interventions” are and why they’re foundational

• The role of shared decision-making and trauma-informed care in pediatrics

🎙️ This episode is sponsored. Obesity Canada received an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada to produce this episode. 🎙️

Welcome to Scale Up Your Practice, the podcast where we bring together science, compassion, and lived experience to help healthcare professionals better support people living with obesity.In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Roshan Abraham and Michelle McMillan sit down with globally recognized endocrinologist and obesity expert, Dr. Sue Pedersen. 

With over 20 years of clinical experience and a deep commitment to reshaping obesity care, Dr. Pedersen shares her personal journey into the field, her proudest accomplishments, and her ongoing mission to push for early, long-term, stigma-free treatment of this complex disease.

In this conversation:

• How a lack of treatment options and compassion sparked a lifelong passion
• Reflections on contributing to the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines — three times
• What’s changed in obesity care over two decades… and what still needs to change
• The importance of recognizing obesity as a chronic disease, not a character flaw

This episode is part of our Celebrating Canadian Excellence series, highlighting leaders who are changing the story of obesity in Canada and beyond.

Whether you're a physician, dietitian, nurse, pharmacist, mental health professional—or someone curious about the future of chronic disease care—you’ll leave this episode with insights and inspiration to elevate your practice.

Want to hear more from Dr. Pedersen? She’ll be joining us again soon for a deeper dive into pharmacotherapy in obesity management. Make sure you’re subscribed to be notified when we release new episodes!

Additional Resources:

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/uimh2 

• Free course: Introduction to Adult Obesity: https://utm.guru/uimh4

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we dive into the kind of discomfort that sparks real change—in ourselves, in our conversations, and in how we support people living with obesity.

Registered Dietitian and Certified Bariatric Educator Jennifer Brown shares how her experiences—both personal and professional—have shaped the way she supports people living with obesity.

From rethinking nutrition counselling to navigating difficult conversations about stigma and bias, Jennifer reflects on what it means to provide care that’s rooted in evidence, empathy, and curiosity.

If you’ve read the Medical Nutrition Therapy chapter of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, you already know her work—this episode brings her voice to life.

🎯 In this episode, we explore:

• What Medical Nutrition Therapy actually is—and why it’s often misunderstood

• Why discomfort is part of the process when confronting weight bias and stigma

• How dietitians and other professionals can unlearn harmful narratives and lean into better conversations

• The emotional and systemic discomfort that comes with shifting practice

• The power of language and humility in patient interactions

• Real stories from Jennifer’s career that highlight transformation—and the messiness that often comes with it

We also pause for a Bias Break, where Jennifer shares a real-world moment that challenged her thinking and reminded her why this work matters.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between what you were taught and what your patients need, this episode offers a candid look at how leaning into discomfort can lead to more meaningful care.

Additional Resources Mentioned

Enjoying the podcast? Help us grow!

✅ Share this episode with a colleague

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review—it helps more people find the show

Have a topic idea or a question? Email us: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Thanks for tuning in—and stay with us as we continue to scale up your practice.

Scale Up Your Practice is created by Obesity Canada. Learn more at obesitycanada.ca

🎙️ This episode is sponsored. Obesity Canada received an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada to produce this episode. 🎙️

Psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Michael Mak joins us to explore one of the most overlooked intersections: sleep, mental health, and metabolic health.

Sleep plays a foundational role in both physical and mental health—but it’s often sidelined in conversations about obesity care. That gap can have real consequences, from missed diagnoses to misinformed assumptions.

In this episode, we dive into how sleep and mental health are connected to obesity, where bias shows up in surprising ways, and what opportunities exist to build more integrated, stigma-free care.

In this episode:

• How poor sleep impacts mood, weight regulation, and metabolic health

• Why sleep disorders are underdiagnosed—and what that means for patients with obesity

• Common misconceptions about the relationship between sleep, mental health, and weight

• Where bias and stigma show up in sleep and obesity care

• What clinicians can do to better recognize and address sleep in obesity management

Resources mentioned:

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/uiC8f  

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): https://utm.guru/uiC8g 

• Obesity Canada's Weight Bias Resources: https://utm.guru/uiC8i 

📩 Send us your questions or topic requests: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Enjoying the podcast? Here’s how you can support us:

✅ Share the episode with a colleague

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review—it helps more people find us

Thanks for listening—and stay tuned as we continue to scale up your practice.