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We also discuss shifting from outdated weight measures like BMI toward more patient-centered care approaches—and the importance of tackling weight bias and stigma head-on in clinical practice.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

Enjoyed the episode?

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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

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✅ 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.

National obesity researcher Dr. Angela Alberga returns for a deep dive into one of the most pervasive and harmful forces in society: weight bias and stigma.

From subtle stereotypes to systemic barriers, weight bias shows up in ways we often don’t even see—especially in schools, sports, and healthcare. Its impact? Profound mental health effects, poorer care, and lifelong harm for many people living with obesity—especially children and teens.

In this conversation, we explore where weight bias hides, how it harms, and how we can begin dismantling it, across systems and as individuals.

In this episode:

• Where weight bias hides in everyday environments—beyond the clinic

• How stigma impacts young people in schools, sports, and healthcare

• The mental health and long-term impacts of chronic exposure to bias

• How bias becomes embedded in well-meaning systems—and how to disrupt it

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

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we’re joined by Dr. Angela Alberga, Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, and a leading voice in weight bias research. As part of our Celebrating Canadian Excellence series, Dr. Alberga shares her path into obesity research, what drives her work, and how weight bias—especially toward children—continues to impact people living with obesity.

In this episode:

• What sparked Dr. Alberga’s commitment to studying weight bias and health equity

• A candid discussion on what she's most proud of in her career

• One thing she wishes every clinician knew about obesity care

• Bias Break: Pediatric Edition – real talk about how weight stigma affects children and what professionals can do about it

  
  

Additional resources: 

• Free course: The impact of weight bias & stigma: https://utm.guru/uirTz

• Canadian Pediatric Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/uirTD

• Harvard Implicit Bias Test: https://utm.guru/uirTE 

  
  

Want to hear more from Dr. Alberga? She’ll be joining us again on our next episode to dive into the topic of weight bias and stigma in more detail. Make sure you’re subscribed on your favourite podcast platform to be notified when new episodes are live!

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

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✅ Leave a review—it helps more people find us

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

Psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Michael Mak returns to explore how sleep health fits into the patient journey of obesity care.

For many people living with obesity, sleep challenges are part of the story—but they’re often left out of the care conversation. In this episode, we take a practical look at how poor sleep contributes to obesity, how obesity impacts sleep, and what clinicians can do to better support patients at every step.

From hormones and appetite to mood, behaviour, and stigma, we unpack the science and systems that shape sleep—and why it’s time to treat sleep as a vital sign.

In this episode:

• Why sleep is a foundational pillar of health—and often overlooked in care

• The bidirectional relationship between sleep and obesity

• How mental health and sleep disorders complicate obesity care

• Simple screening questions and when to refer for sleep testing

• Strategies for supporting behaviour change and self-advocacy around sleep

Pregnancy brings big changes, frequent healthcare visits, and a lot of emotions. But for many pregnant people living in larger bodies, it can also come with judgment and bias—often from the very systems meant to provide support.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with Dr. Taniya Nagpal, whose research focuses on maternal health and weight stigma in perinatal care. We talk about what happens when assumptions shape care, how weight bias shows up in both subtle and obvious ways, and what we can do to create safer, more respectful experiences for patients—starting with how we listen.

🎯 In this episode:

• What weight bias looks like in pregnancy care—and how it often goes unrecognized

• Real stories from people navigating perinatal care in larger bodies

• How internalized bias impacts decision-making, confidence, and care-seeking

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

Nutrition in obesity management is complex, deeply personal, and shaped by biology, culture, mental health, access, and lived experience.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Flavio Vieira, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta, to explore what personalized, evidence-informed nutrition can really look like in practice. From tackling misconceptions to addressing malnutrition and advocating for multidisciplinary care, Dr. Vieira helps us rethink how nutrition fits into obesity care that’s compassionate, practical, and person-centred.

In this episode:

• Why a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition doesn’t work

• How biology, metabolism, and lived experience shape dietary responses

• The importance of integrating nutrition with other treatments (exercise, behavioural care, surgery, pharmacology)

• Malnutrition and sarcopenic obesity: what they mean for people living with obesity

• The role of advocacy in bridging research and real-world practice

• Gaps in screening tools and why new approaches are needed

• A vision for more accessible, multidisciplinary models of care

Additional resources: 

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/ui2XW 

• Canadian Pediatric Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/ui2XX 

• Free course: A Deep Dive into Medical Nutrition Therapy and Physical Activity: https://utm.guru/ui2XY 

  
  

• Explore Dr. Vieira’s research: 

• Sarcopenic obesity diagnosis by different criteria mid-to long-term post-bariatric surgery: https://utm.guru/ui2XZ 

• Poor muscle quality: a hidden and detrimental health condition in obesity: https://utm.guru/ui2X0 

• Hidden malnutrition in obesity and knee osteoarthritis: Assessment, overlap with sarcopenic obesity and health outcomes: https://utm.guru/ui2X1 

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover? 

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

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

✅ Share this episode with a colleague or student

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review to help more listeners find the show

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

Dr. Sue Pedersen returns to walk us through the just-released update to Obesity Canada’s Clinical Practice Guideline for Pharmacotherapy.

In this episode, we explore the latest evidence, recommendations, and clinical tools to help healthcare professionals use obesity medications safely, effectively, and in partnership with patients.

From a shift away from BMI to new medications and an updated decision tool, this conversation breaks down what’s new—and why it matters—for clinicians and people living with obesity alike.

In this episode:

• What’s new in the 2025 pharmacotherapy guideline chapter update

• Why BMI is no longer the primary criterion for treatment

• The role of pharmacotherapy in long-term, health-focused obesity care

• New medications added: tirzepatide and setmelanotide

• Expanded recommendations for common obesity-related conditions

• How to personalize treatment and use the updated decision algorithm

• Why compounded GLP-1 medications are not recommended

• • Research gaps: where we still need answers (e.g., PCOS, CKD, fertility, combination therapy)
  • What the future of obesity medicine could look like—and how to get there

🎧 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

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

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

Behaviour change in obesity and chronic disease care is complex, relational, and happens far beyond the clinic visit—so our conversations with patients need to reflect that reality.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with health psychologists Dr. Michael Vallis and Dr. Tiffany Shepherd to rethink how we teach behavioural change counselling skills. We explore the shift from transactional to relational care, the “Grand Apology” as a trust-building tool, and practical ways clinicians can co-create behavioural change with patients while navigating time and system constraints.

In this episode:

• Why behavior change is a core pillar in the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Moving from control to collaboration: the relational model in practice

• Creating safe, efficient conversations that invite patient creativity and agency

• Team impact: how these skills strengthen inter-professional care and clinician confidence

• Building competencies over time: awareness → competence → confidence

  
  

Additional resources:

• Read the research on behavioural change counselling: https://utm.guru/ujbvW 

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines; Effective Psychological and Behavioural Change Interventions in Obesity Management: https://utm.guru/ujbvX 

Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026, in Montréal, Québec. It’s where Canada’s obesity community comes together — researchers, and healthcare professionals— to exchange ideas, share the latest science, and put evidence into practice.

Register today: https://utm.guru/ujbvY 

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you!

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Love what you’re learning? Here’s how you can support the podcast:

✅ Share this episode with a colleague or student

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review to help more listeners find the show

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

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

Pediatric obesity care is complex, deeply personal, and involves more than just the child—it involves the whole family.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with Dr. Stasia Hadjiyannakis, pediatric endocrinologist, clinician, researcher, and advocate, to explore what compassionate, evidence-based support for children, youth, and their families can look like. From reframing outdated assumptions to tackling bias, Dr. Hadjiyannakis shares her journey, insights, and vision for better pediatric care.

In this episode:

• What inspired Dr. Hadjiyannakis to focus on pediatric obesity care

• The science of body weight regulation in children and youth

• Why stigma and bias are so damaging in pediatric care—and what to do differently

• The importance of listening, curiosity, and whole-family support

• How systemic gaps in education and care access continue to impact kids and families

• A hopeful look at what better care could mean for the next generation

  
  

Additional resources:

• Canadian Pediatric Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/ui7Ph 

• Edmonton Obesity Staging System for Pediatrics: https://utm.guru/ui7Pi  

• Free course: Intro to Pediatric Obesity: https://utm.guru/ui7Pj  

• Explore all of Obesity Canada’s education offerings: https://utm.guru/ui7Pk 

Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026, in Montréal, Québec. It’s where Canada’s obesity community comes together — researchers, and healthcare professionals— to exchange ideas, share the latest science, and put evidence into practice.

Get the event details: https://utm.guru/ui7Pl   

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you!Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Love what you’re learning? Here’s how you can support the podcast:

✅ Share this episode with a colleague or student

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review to help more listeners find the show

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

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

Access to obesity treatment in Canada can feel like a maze—for both patients and healthcare professionals.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with Dr. Ian Patton, Obesity Canada’s Director of Advocacy and Public Engagement, to talk about the barriers people face in accessing obesity care—and how clinicians and patients can work together to change that.

From the everyday challenges of navigating authorizations and waitlists to the bigger system-level barriers, Ian shares practical strategies clinicians can use to support patients within the realities of our current healthcare system—while working toward a more equitable one.

In this episode:

• Why access to evidence-based obesity care remains inconsistent across Canada

• How delays, denials, and system barriers affect patient motivation and health

• Practical steps clinicians can take to reduce friction and improve efficiency

• The power of communication, empathy, and trust in patient advocacy

• How peer support and communities like OC Connect empower patients

• What needs to change at a system level to make equitable care possible
  

Additional resources:

• OC Connect patient community:https://utm.guru/ujesc 

• Private insurance appeal letter: https://utm.guru/ujesd 

• Workplace & employer resources: https://utm.guru/ujese 

• Tell your government representative to recognize obesity as a chronic disease: https://utm.guru/ujesf 

• The Patient-Physician Partnership in Advocacy: https://utm.guru/ujesg 

Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026, in Montréal, Québec. It’s where Canada’s obesity community—researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and lived experience advocates—comes together to share the latest science and advance care.

✨ Early bird registration is open through November 30, 2025.Register today: https://utm.guru/ujesh

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Love what you’re learning? Here’s how you can support the podcast:

✅ Share this episode with a colleague or student

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review to help more listeners find the show

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

Delays, denials, and BMI cut-offs have long shaped access to joint replacement surgeryfor people living with obesity. 

Orthopaedic surgeon and steering committee member Dr. Harman Chaudhry joins us to unpack the new Canadian Orthopaedic Association recommendations for knee and hip replacements for people living with obesity. We cover what’s changed, why communication matters, and how clinicians and patients can navigate toward equitable, evidence-based surgical decisions.

In this episode

• Reframing access to surgery: Why national recommendations were needed, how BMI cut-offs created inequities, and what’s changing with a more individualized, case-by-case approach

• Bias, communication, and patient trust: How stigma shows up in surgical care—and why language, empathy, and open dialogue can change both outcomes and experiences

• Balancing risk & benefit: What the evidence really says about outcomes for people living with obesity after hip and knee replacement, and how to guide risk-benefit conversations with patients

• • Practical advocacy in action: Steps clinicians and patients can take to improve access—optimizing health, asking for second opinions, and ensuring no one leaves an appointment without a plan
  • Looking ahead: How system design, central intake models, and collaborative advocacy can build a more equitable path to joint replacement across Canada

  
  

  Additional resources

  • Canadian Orthopedic Association: Recommendations on Elective Total Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery in People Living with Obesity https://utm.guru/ujhto 

  • Announcement from Obesity Canada on the COA’s recommendations: https://utm.guru/ujhtp 

• • Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/ujhtq 
  • Explore our free, online education courses for healthcare professionals: https://utm.guru/ujhtr

  
  

  Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

  
  

  Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026 in Montréal, Québec. Join researchers, healthcare professionals, and advocate voices to connect the latest science with real-world care.

  Submit your abstract by October 31, and secure your spot at the conference. Early bird registration is open now through November 30, 2025.

  Learn more and register: https://utm.guru/ujhts

  
  

  📩 Questions or topic requests?

  Email us: scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

  
  

  🎧 Enjoying the podcast? Support the show:

  • Share this episode with a colleague or student

  • Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

  • Leave a review to help others find the show
    

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

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

Multidisciplinary care can transform obesity management for patients — but what does it actually look like in practice?

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we sit down with Dr. Rishi Handa, internal medicine specialist, and pharmacist Khalid Bhatti, co-founders of Durham Care Clinic + Pharmacy in Oshawa, Ontario, a collaborative care model bringing physicians, pharmacists, and allied health professionals together to support patients living with obesity and related chronic diseases.

From shared decision-making to the use of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, this conversation explores how teamwork can improve outcomes, reduce bias, and make obesity care more connected, compassionate, and effective.

In this episode:

• Building better systems of care: How Durham Care Clinic brought physicians, pharmacists, and dietitians, and other allied health professionals together to close care gaps and improve care coordination for patients living with obesity.

• From silos to teamwork: What multidisciplinary, patient-centred care looks like in practice—and how shared responsibility changes outcomes and experiences.

• Putting the guidelines to work: How the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines can anchor care planning, communication, and collaboration across teams.

• Connecting chronic conditions: How a unified team approach supports patients managing obesity alongside diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

• Bias, trust, and collaboration: How working as a team helps identify and address weight bias in the system—improving empathy, communication, and care quality.

• Practical takeaways for clinicians: What any practice—large or small—can do to start integrating multidisciplinary principles and make obesity care more connected and compassionate.

  
  

Additional resources:

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

• Durham Care Clinic + Pharmacy: https://utm.guru/ujkVF 

• Free courses from Obesity Canada: https://utm.guru/ujkVG 

Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026, in Montréal, Québec.It’s five days of learning, collaboration, and community—all centered on the theme:

“Obesity Across the Lifespan: Connecting Research to Real-World Care.”

✨ Early bird registration is open until November 30, 2025. Learn more and register here → https://utm.guru/ujkVH

📩 Have a question or topic you’d like us to cover?

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Enjoying the podcast?

✅ Share this episode with a colleague or your care team

✅ Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform

✅ Leave a review to help more listeners discover the show

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

🎙️This episode is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada.

Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects an estimated 38% of adults in North America — yet many patients have never heard the term before receiving a diagnosis. Confusion, stigma, outdated language, and misconceptions often contribute to delayed recognition and missed opportunities for early intervention.

We’re joined by Dr. Giada Sebastiani, hepatologist and Professor of Medicine at McGill University, to explore the biological mechanisms behind MASLD, what early signs look like in clinical practice, and how to talk about liver disease in a way that reduces shame and strengthens the patient–provider alliance.

Dr. Sebastiani also shares practical guidance for screening, counselling, and helping patients understand the path forward.

In this episode: 

The metabolic link between obesity and MASLD: How insulin resistance, adipose tissue dysfunction, and cardiometabolic risk factors drive steatosis, fibrosis, and progression to advanced liver disease.

Patient communication that reduces stigma: Strategies for explaining MASLD, abnormal liver tests, and imaging findings in clear, non-blaming language that supports trust, understanding, and patient engagement.

Screening and early detection essentials: Practical guidance on who to screen, how to interpret mild enzyme elevations, and when to use tools like FIB-4, transient elastography, and non-invasive biomarkers.

Management that supports long-term liver and metabolic health: How lifestyle interventions, obesity pharmacotherapy, and multidisciplinary care can improve liver outcomes—and how to tailor these approaches to individual patient needs.

Additional resources:

Free course: Introduction to Behaviour Change Counselling for Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujpJ9 

📣 Register for the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026 in Montréal. Join researchers, healthcare professionals, policy leaders, and people with lived experience for five days of learning, collaboration, and community.

Registration is open now and tickets are already selling fast.

Register today: https://utm.guru/ujpKa 

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎧 Enjoying the podcast? Support us by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or friend

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

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

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common—and most misunderstood—conditions in women’s health. It affects an estimated 6–13% of women globally, yet up to 70% remain undiagnosed.

PCOS isn’t just a reproductive issue. At its core is metabolic dysfunction: insulin resistance, adipose tissue inflammation, and hormonal disruption—all of which intersect closely with obesity. These biological drivers influence ovulation, fertility, mental health, metabolic health, and long-term risks like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and MASLD. 

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we’re joined by Dr. Emilia Huvinen, Finnish gynecologist, researcher, and associate professor at the University of Helsinki, whose work focuses on the intersection of obesity and women’s health. Dr. Huvinen breaks down the biological roots of PCOS, the links with obesity, how stigma and bias shape care, and what evidence-based, compassionate management can look like.

In this episode: 

• PCOS biology made clear: How insulin resistance, adipose tissue dysfunction, and hormonal shifts drive core symptoms — and why PCOS is fundamentally a metabolic condition.

• Explaining PCOS without blame: Approaches to help patients understand this condition without feelings of shame or blame.

• Evidence-based treatment options: From lifestyle support and metformin to hormonal therapy and obesity medications—and how to tailor care to the individual.

• Stigma, bias, and missed diagnoses: How weight bias delays recognition, affects fertility conversations, and shapes patient experiences—and how language can shift that.

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

🎙️This episode is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada.

When conversations about obesity focus only on food, movement, or medications, something essential gets missed. Mental health is not an add-on in obesity care. It’s foundational.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we’re joined by Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam, psychiatrist, researcher, Scientific Director of Obesity Canada, and co-author of the mental health chapter of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines.

We discuss how mental health intersects with obesity across the lifespan, and why addressing depression, anxiety, trauma, disordered eating, sleep, and weight bias is essential to providing compassionate, evidence-based care. Dr. Sockalingam shares practical insights clinicians can apply in everyday practice to strengthen patient relationships, reduce stigma, and support long-term health.

In this episode:

Why mental health matters in obesity care: How psychological health is both a driver and complication of obesity, and why it must be integrated into assessment and treatment.

Recognizing and reducing weight bias in care: Where stigma shows up in clinical conversations and systems, and how language and validation can reshape patient experience.

Practical strategies for real-world practice: Simple, time-efficient ways to screen for mental health concerns, address disordered eating, and support patients beyond lifestyle-only advice.

What treatment can and can’t do on its own: How medications may influence appetite and eating behaviours, and when additional psychological support is essential.

Additional Resources 

Research: The Cost of Inaction in Treating Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujsc2 

Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/ujsc4 

Learn more about the intersection of sleep & obesity in episode 13 with Dr. Michael Mak: https://utm.guru/ujsc5 

Free courses: 

Intro to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Behavioural Change in Obesity Care: https://utm.guru/ujsc6 

Intro to Behavioural Change Counselling for Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujsc7 

Exploring the Role of Mental Health & Psychological Interventions in Obesity Management: https://utm.guru/ujsc9

📣 Register for the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026

Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026 in Montréal. Join researchers, healthcare professionals, policy leaders, and people with lived experience for five days of learning, collaboration, and community—centered on this year’s theme: obesity across the lifespan, connecting research to real-world care.

Registration is open now and tickets are already selling fast.

Register today: https://utm.guru/ujsc1

🎧 Season one finale
This episode marks the final episode of season one of Scale Up Your Practice. Thank you for listening and being part of this first season of the podcast. We’ll be back after a short break with season two in 2026, bringing more conversations to support compassionate, evidence-based obesity care.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada

What does it take to move obesity care forward in Canada? In the season two opener of Scale Up Your Practice, Executive Director Lisa Schaffer and Scientific Director Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam return to the podcast to unpack Obesity Canada’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. They explore what shifting systems, advancing care, and reshaping narratives can look like in practice, and how those changes can create more respectful, evidence-based experiences for people living with obesity.

In this episode

• Why Obesity Canada’s new strategic plan is focused on shifting systems, advancing care, and reshaping how Canada understands and talks about obesity
• What better obesity care could look like by 2029, from more compassionate clinical encounters to better access to evidence-based treatment
• Why better obesity care depends on systems that reflect current science and support compassionate, personalized, long-term care

Learning objectives

• Describe the three strategic drivers of Obesity Canada’s 2026–2029 Strategic Plan: Shifting Systems, Advancing Care, and Reshaping Narratives.
• Apply the podcast episode as a structured learning resource to support ongoing professional development within the CanMEDS Scholar role.
• Describe how the Reshaping Narratives pillar addresses systemic weight bias in media, policy, and public discourse.

Additional resources

• Obesity Canada’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan: https://utm.guru/umqIM

• Canadian Obesity Education Competencies: https://utm.guru/umqIN 

• Embedding Obesity Care Into Medical Education: https://utm.guru/umqIO 

Sponsor an episode of Scale Up Your Practice

If your organization wants to help us advance obesity care in Canada by shifting systems, advancing care, and reshaping narratives, we’d love to talk. 

Email scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca to inquire about sponsorship opportunities.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Disclosures:

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada

Why is obesity still treated differently from other chronic diseases? Dr. Arya Sharma, founder of Obesity Canada, joins Dr. Roshan Abraham to explore the biology of obesity, the limits of lifestyle advice alone, and the role of compassion, evidence, and better clinical tools in improving care.

Listen to their conversation to learn why lifestyle advice alone is often not enough, how the body defends against weight loss, and why obesity should be understood as an impairment of health rather than a number on a scale. They also discuss how stigma shows up in clinical practice, why the Edmonton Obesity Staging System helps shift the conversation, and what more equitable, evidence-based obesity care could look like in the years ahead.

In this episode

• Why obesity must be understood and treated as a chronic disease
• How biology defends body weight and makes long-term weight loss difficult for many people
• Why lifestyle interventions alone are often not enough in obesity care
• How internalized blame and weight bias affect patients in the exam room
• What the Edmonton Obesity Staging System can reveal beyond BMI
• Why compassionate, individualized care matters in obesity management
• What better access to evidence-based obesity treatment could look like in Canada

Additional resources

• Canadian Obesity Education Competencies: https://utm.guru/umQ99 
• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/umRaJ 
• Edmonton Obesity Staging System: https://utm.guru/umRaY 
• The 5A’s of Obesity Management Framework: https://utm.guru/umRbf 
• Follow Dr. Sharma on LinkedIn: https://utm.guru/umRbu

Learning objectives

1. Apply current biomedical knowledge to explain obesity as a complex, chronic disease rooted in neurohormonal dysregulation.
2. Differentiate between the presence of adiposity (body fat) and the disease of obesity (impairment of health) using the EOSS.
3. Analyze how the "lifestyle choice" narrative perpetuates systemic bias.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member
• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform
• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Sponsor an episode of Scale Up Your Practice

If your organization wants to help us advance obesity care in Canada by shifting systems, advancing care, and reshaping narratives, we’d love to talk. 

Email scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca to inquire about sponsorship opportunities.

Disclosures:

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

What changes when obesity care stops being about willpower and starts with biology? In this episode, Dr. Roshan Abraham speaks with Dr. Sean Wharton about how pharmacotherapy is reshaping obesity care, why “food noise” matters, and how clinicians can support patients with more empathy, less stigma, and a better understanding of obesity as a chronic disease.

In this episode

• Why obesity medications need to be understood as treatment for a chronic disease, not an “easy way out” 

• How Dr. Wharton explains “food noise” and why naming it can help reduce self-blame

• What it looks like to pair pharmacotherapy with compassionate, person-centred care 

• Why long-term obesity care requires flexibility, compassion, and the willingness to try a different path when needed

Additional resources

• Accredited course: Pharmacotherapy in Obesity Management: https://utm.guru/unvDk  

• 2025 Update: Pharmacotherapy chapter of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/unvDm 

Learning objectives

• Apply evidence from the 2025 GLP-1/GIP pharmacotherapy landscape to co-construct patient-centric management plans.

• Analyze how obesity medications regulate neurohormonal pathways to quiet "food noise" and reinforce obesity as a complex chronic disease.

• Evaluate how systemic weight bias and the framing of medications as an easy fix create barriers to equitable pharmacotherapy access.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Disclosures

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

🎙️This episode is supported by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada

What does ethical obesity care look like when the system itself can make good care harder to deliver? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jerry Maniate about trust, language, weight bias, and the kind of reflective practice that helps healthcare professionals move beyond transactional and into relational care. 

In this episode

• A closer look at the trust gap many people living with obesity experience in healthcare
• How language can either open the door to better care or reinforce harm and disconnection
• Why ethical obesity care must account for real-world barriers like access, affordability, and food insecurity
• Practical reflections on how clinicians can unlearn outdated thinking and stay open to feedback

Additional resources

• Equity in Health Systems Lab: https://utm.guru/un7Sv 
• Carefully Chosen Words: Language for Inclusive Care: https://utm.guru/un7Sw 
• Free course: Words matter: the Consequences of Weight Bias & Stigmatizing Language: https://utm.guru/un7Sx 
• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/un7Sy 
• Canadian Obesity Education Competencies: https://utm.guru/un7Sz 

Learning objectives

• Apply ethical frameworks and evidence-based best practices to navigate the rapidly evolving clinical science of obesity care.
• Analyze how receiving and acting upon interprofessional feedback fosters the learning necessary to maintain clinical competence.
• Evaluate how systemic weight bias compromises ethical standards of care, and identify collaborative strategies to dismantle these barriers in daily practice.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member
• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform
• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?

Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Disclosures

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current science and best practices and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada

What happens when obesity assessment stops at BMI?

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, we speak with Dr. Kristin Terenzi, family physician based in Ontario, about what it really means to assess obesity well in primary care.

Drawing on both clinical experience and lived experience, Dr. Terenzi discusses how the 4Ms framework can help clinicians move beyond weight alone to better understand the mental, mechanical, metabolic, and social factors affecting a person’s health.

The conversation explores how stigma and self-blame can shape the care experience, why trust matters, and how thoughtful, realistic assessment can open the door to care that feels more supportive, more practical, and more effective over time.

In this episode

• Why obesity assessment needs to go beyond BMI to explore the mental, mechanical, metabolic, and social factors shaping a person’s health.
• How the 4Ms framework can help clinicians uncover root causes, understand barriers, and build more realistic care plans.
• What internalized weight bias and self-blame can sound like in practice, and how clinicians can respond in ways that build trust and reduce shame.
• Why follow-up, shared decision-making, and focusing on function rather than weight can help patients stay engaged in long-term care.

Additional resources

• Free course: Obesity Assessment Essentials https://utm.guru/upqGa 
• Assessment of People Living with Obesity chapter of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines https://utm.guru/upqGv 
• PDF download: 5As Framework for Obesity Management in Adults https://utm.guru/upqGQ  
• PDF download: The Edmonton Obesity Staging System https://utm.guru/upqHa 

Learning objectives

• Apply the 4Ms framework (Mental, Mechanical, Metabolic, Monetary/Milieu) to obtain a comprehensive, obesity-focused patient history that identifies the root causes of weight gain.
• Analyze the biological and psychosocial drivers of obesity—including life transitions like menopause and mechanical barriers like osteoarthritis—to co-construct individualized, evidence-based management plans.
• Evaluate how systemic weight bias and internalized shame prevent patients from seeking care, and implement stigma-free communication to build therapeutic trust.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Disclosures

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

🎙️This episode is supported by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada

What happens in the first few moments of a conversation about weight with a patient can shape everything that follows.

Dr. Shahebina Walji joins us for a thoughtful conversation about how to start discussions about weight in a way that feels respectful, collaborative, and actually helpful. We explore the power of asking permission, the harm weight bias can cause in clinical care, and the small but meaningful language shifts that can help patients feel heard instead of judged. If you’ve ever wondered how to approach this topic with patients more thoughtfully in practice, this conversation offers practical guidance you can use right away.

In this episode

• Why asking permission to talk about weight can reduce anxiety, build trust, and help patients feel safe enough to be honest and engaged in care.

• How to move beyond generic advice by taking a more tailored, longitudinal history that reflects a person’s health, context, barriers, and goals.

• Practical, patient-centred language clinicians can use to open conversations with respect, avoid over-attributing symptoms to weight, and strengthen therapeutic relationships over time.

Additional resources

• Primary Care Chapter of the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/uoKEu
• The 5As Framework for Obesity Management in Adults: https://utm.guru/uoKFh
• Edmonton Obesity Staging System: https://utm.guru/uoKFk
• Canadian Obesity Education Competencies: https://utm.guru/uoKFl
  

Take the next step in evidence-based obesity care

Obesity Canada’s Calibre program is an accredited, expert-led course designed to help healthcare professionals strengthen their skills in obesity care. Grounded in Canada’s Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline, it blends self-paced learning with live, interactive sessions on communication, bias, collaborative care, and evidence-based treatment. 

Learn more and register for the September 2026 cohort here: https://utm.guru/uoKFo 

Learning objectives

• Apply a patient-centered approach to initiate compassionate, stigma-free conversations about obesity management during clinical encounters.

• Analyze how personal and systemic weight bias act as barriers to obtaining an accurate, tailored patient history, and adjust clinical communication to build trust.

• Evaluate practical strategies for asking permission and using the 5As framework to establish personalized, supportive therapeutic relationships with patients.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

• Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member

• Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

• Leaving a review to help more listeners find the show

Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
Email us at scaleuppod@obesitycanada.ca

Disclosures

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.

This special live episode of Scale Up Your Practice was recorded at the 2026 Canadian Obesity Summit in Montreal this past March.

Dr. Roshan Abraham is joined by guest host Dr. Taniya Nagpal and special guest Dr. Rishi Handa for a case-based conversation about what obesity care can look like when healthcare professionals move beyond standardized answers and build care around the person in front of them.

Through three common clinical cases, the episode explores how culture, patient goals, medication side effects, language used in referrals, weight bias, and clinical humility can shape the care experience. The conversation also asks a deeper question: what happens when standard practice stops being helpful and starts becoming a barrier?

In this episode

- Why evidence-based obesity assessment must look beyond standard BMI cut-offs, especially when caring for diverse populations

- How weight bias and anticipatory stigma can shape clinical encounters before the appointment even begins

- What healthcare professionals can include in referrals to make obesity care more specific, respectful, and collaborative

- Why patient goals, function, culture, heritage, and lived experience need to be part of the care plan

- How interprofessional care can support people starting obesity pharmacotherapy, including side effect management and nutrition support

- Why culturally safe care means asking better questions instead of relying on one-size-fits-all advice

Additional resources

Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/up0gz 

Free course: Obesity Assessment Essentials: https://utm.guru/up0gA  

Free course: Words Matter: The Consequences of Weight Bias & Stigmatizing Language: https://utm.guru/up0gB  

Weight bias and stigma research from Dr. Nagpal

- Widespread misconceptions about pregnancy for women living with obesity https://utm.guru/up0gG 

- Women’s Suggestions for How to Reduce Weight Stigma in Prenatal Clinical Settings: https://utm.guru/up0gH 

Calibre: Practical Clinical Strategies for Obesity Management

If this episode leaves you thinking about how to strengthen your own approach to obesity care, Obesity Canada’s Calibre course is designed to help.

Calibre is an accredited course for healthcare professionals who want practical, evidence-based tools they can apply in real clinical settings. The course combines self-paced learning with live, interactive sessions, helping learners build confidence in obesity assessment, treatment, communication, and patient-centred care.

The next cohort runs September 3 through October 7.

Learn more & register: https://utm.guru/up0gC 

Learning objectives

• Apply evidence-based obesity assessment principles to common patient presentations in clinical practice (Medical Expert).
• Develop an individualized, guideline-informed obesity management plan using case-based scenarios, incorporating behavioural, surgical, pharmacological, and referral-based interventions as appropriate (Medical Expert, Leader).
• Identify and address common clinical barriers in order to support patient-centred, collaborative obesity care (Communicator, Collaborator, Professional).

Disclosures

This episode script was developed using NotebookLM to synthesize complex source materials into a structured educational format. The tool was used to analyze the Canadian Obesity Education Competencies (COECs), the Obesity Canada Strategic Plan, and guest-specific research. Specific prompts were utilized to extract relevant learning objectives, map them to CanMEDS roles, and generate competency-based interview questions.

While NotebookLM assisted in drafting the narrative arc and educational framework, all content has been reviewed, fact-checked, and refined by the podcast hosts and Obesity Canada's clinical experts. This ensures the script aligns with current Clinical Practice Guidelines and authentically represents the lived experience perspective.