Scale Up Your Practice by Obesity Canada

🎙️This episode is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Canada What happens when a symptom is explained away too quickly? For people living with obesity, concerns like fatigue, shortness of breath, poor sleep, or pain are too often viewed through the lens of weight first. That can delay the right questions, the right tests, and the right care. In this episode, Dr. James Kim...

🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada. When obesity assessment starts and ends with BMI, important parts of the patient story can disappear. In this episode, Dr. Roshan Abraham and Michelle McMillan speak with Dr. Denise Campbell-Scherer about what it takes to assess obesity with more clarity, more context, and more respect for the person seeking care...

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...

🎙️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...

🎙️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...

🎙️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...

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...

🎙️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 conv...

🎙️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 car...

🎙️ 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 o...

🎙️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 opportuniti...

🎙️ 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 dysf...

🎙️ 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-f...

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 an...

🎙️ 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...

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 tran...

🎙️ 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 ad...

🎙️ 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 perso...

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 deci...

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...

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 clinician...

🎙️ 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 co...

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...

🎙️ 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 p...

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 nutrit...