Scale Up Your Practice by Obesity Canada

🎙️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
Apply current biomedical knowledge to explain obesity as a complex, chronic disease rooted in neurohormonal dysregulation.
Differentiate between the presence of adiposity (body fat) and the disease of obesity (impairment of health) using the EOSS.
Analyze how the "lifestyle choice" narrative perpetuates systemic bias.
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Support Scale Up Your Practice by:
Sharing this episode with a colleague or team member
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Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
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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 [email protected] 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.

🎙️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 [email protected] 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 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 [email protected]

🎙️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:

The Cost of Inaction in Treating Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujpJ5 

Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/ujpJ6 

Free course: Comprehensive Approaches to Obesity Management in Diverse Populations: https://utm.guru/ujpJ7 

Free course: Words matter: The Consequences of Weight Bias and Stigmatizing Language: https://utm.guru/ujpJ8 

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 [email protected]

🎧 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.

Team-based care in action: How primary care, gynecology, endocrinology, dermatology, and mental health providers can work together to support women with PCOS.
Hope and emerging directions: Why early recognition matters, how treatment options are evolving, and what gives clinicians and patients reason for optimism.
Additional resources: 
Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/ujnad 

Free course: Beyond the Stereotypes: Delving Into The Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Science of Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujnag  

Free course: Intro to Behaviour Change Counselling for Obesity: https://utm.guru/ujnai  

Register now 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.
Early-bird registration is open until November 30, 2025. 
Register today: https://utm.guru/ujnab 

📩 Have a question or a topic you’d like us to cover?
Email us at [email protected]

🎧 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