🎙️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• Practical reflections on how clinicians can unlearn outdated thinking and stay open to feedback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.

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 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

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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.

🎙️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 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 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 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.

• • 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 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. 🎙️

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.