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

Pregnancy care should feel safe, respectful and supportive for every patient. But for pregnant patients living with obesity, clinical spaces can sometimes create anxiety before care even begins, from waiting room seating and equipment that do not fit, to conversations about weight, pregnancy risk and health that can feel stigmatizing.

In this episode of Scale Up Your Practice, Dr. Cynthia Maxwell joins Dr. Roshan Abraham and Michelle McMillan to discuss how healthcare professionals can create safer, more equitable pregnancy care for patients living with obesity. She shares practical strategies to reduce weight bias in maternal care, communicate pregnancy risks without blame, ask permission around weighing, and build healthcare environments where patients feel physically and psychologically safe.

In this episode

How to create safer pregnancy care for patients living with obesity

Why respectful maternal care starts with language, trust and psychological safety

How to talk about pregnancy risks, weight and health without blame or shame

Why asking permission before weighing patients can help reduce weight bias

How clinic design, equipment sizing and digital tools can affect patient safety

Why inclusive, stigma-free care benefits patients, families and healthcare teams

How healthcare professionals can build more welcoming clinical spaces across the full patient journey

Additional resources

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

Chapter: Weight management over the reproductive years for adult women with obesity: https://utm.guru/ussjh 

Pregnancy Obesity Medicine Surgery (POMS) Fellowship Program with Dr. Maxwell: https://utm.guru/ussji 

Become a Certified Bariatric Educator

Today’s conversation is a good reminder that obesity care takes knowledge, compassion and a commitment to reducing stigma. For healthcare professionals with experience in obesity care, Obesity Canada’s Certified Bariatric Educator exam is one way to have that knowledge recognized and stand out in the field.

The next CBE exam takes place on November 28, and applications must be submitted by November 2 to be eligible to write.

Learn more and apply: https://utm.guru/ussjj 

Learning objectives

Apply patient-centered, people-first language to collaboratively communicate potential pregnancy risk factors and monitor health metrics, ensuring the patient does not feel blamed or stigmatized.

Analyze the clinical environment—from waiting room seating to the sizing of medical equipment like blood pressure cuffs, speculums, and ultrasound limitations—to identify and resolve physical barriers that compromise patient safety and comfort.

Evaluate how systemic weight bias and scale aversion negatively impact maternal healthcare, and implement compassionate strategies to foster a more inclusive, welcoming hospital and clinic experience for expectant mothers.

Enjoying the podcast?

Support Scale Up Your Practice by:

Sharing this episode

Subscribing on your favourite podcast platform

Leaving a review

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

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

Metabolic bariatric surgery is often misunderstood as a last resort, or dismissed as “the easy way out.” In this episode, Dr. Boris Zevin joins Dr. Roshan Abraham and Michelle McMillan to discuss where surgery fits in obesity care, how it affects the biology of obesity, and how clinicians can talk about it with less stigma and more clarity.

In this episode

• Where metabolic bariatric surgery fits in obesity care

• Why surgery is more than “weight loss surgery”

• How surgery can affect hormones, metabolism and diabetes control

• Why timing and shared decision-making matter

• How stigma can shape a patient’s willingness to consider surgery

• What long-term follow-up can look like after surgery

• How to talk about weight recurrence with patients without blame

Additional resources

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Chapter: Bariatric Surgery: Selection & Pre-operative Work Up: https://utm.guru/uscNZ 

• Chapter: Bariatric Surgery: Surgical Options & Outcomes: https://utm.guru/uscN1  

• Chapter: Bariatric Surgery: Post-Operative Management: https://utm.guru/uscN2  

• Free course: A Comprehensive Overview of Bariatric Surgery for Obesity Management: https://utm.guru/uscN3 

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 .

Learn more & register: https://utm.guru/uscN4 

Learning objectives

• Apply evidence-based criteria to collaborate with patients in assessing the role of metabolic and bariatric surgery within a comprehensive obesity management plan 

• Analyze the physiological and hormonal changes following metabolic surgery to better manage long-term patient outcomes and establish realistic clinical expectations.

• Evaluate how the stigma framing surgery as the "easy way out" creates systemic barriers to care, and implement communication strategies to dismantle this internalized bias during shared decision-making.

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]

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

Obesity treatments are creating new opportunities for nutrition support that focuses on meeting nutritional needs rather than simply eating less.

Dr. Michelle Cardel joins us on the podcast to explain how GLP-1 medications are changing nutrition conversations in obesity care, and why the focus must shift from eating less to helping patients stay nourished, supporting their health and healing their relationship with food.

In this episode

• How GLP-1 medications can change appetite, food noise and nutritional needs

• Why nutritional adequacy matters during obesity treatment

• What clinicians should consider when discussing protein, fibre, hydration and eating patterns

• How weight bias can shape nutrition advice and patient experiences

• Why obesity is not a nutrition knowledge gap

• How to make nutrition conversations more individualized, respectful and collaborative

Additional resources

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline https://utm.guru/urA1X 

• Chapter: Medical Nutrition Therapy: https://utm.guru/urA1Y

• Free Course: A Deep Dive into Medical Nutrition Therapy & Physical Activity: https://utm.guru/urA1Z 

• Harvard Implicit Bias Test: https://utm.guru/urA10 

• Food Noise Questionnaire: https://utm.guru/urA11

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 .

Learn more & register: https://utm.guru/urA12 

Learning objectives

• Apply patient-centered communication to co-construct individualized medical nutrition therapy plans that respect a patient's lived experience and biological realities.

• Analyze the role of medical nutrition therapy when combined with obesity medications, focusing on strategies to ensure nutritional adequacy and preserve lean muscle mass.

• Evaluate how the traditional nutrition narrative perpetuates systemic weight bias, and implement strengths-based strategies to dismantle this stigma in dietary counseling.

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]

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

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 joins the podcast for a practical conversation about screening for obesity-related complications without letting weight bias narrow the clinical picture. We explore how healthcare professionals can recognize diagnostic overshadowing, build more consistent screening workflows, and make care safer, more respectful, and more evidence-based for people living with obesity.

In this episode

• Why diagnostic overshadowing can lead to missed or delayed diagnoses for people living with obesity

• How to build practical screening workflows for obesity complications in primary care

• What clinicians should know about MASLD, sleep apnea, insomnia, and cardiometabolic risk

• How equipment and testing limitations can affect the reliability of screening results

• How to talk about obesity complications without blame, shame, or stigma

Additional resources

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: https://utm.guru/uq74A 

• Chapter: Assessment of People Living With Obesity: https://utm.guru/uq74B 

• Free course: Obesity Assessment Essentials: https://utm.guru/uq74C 

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/upbeo 

Learning objectives

• Apply evidence-based resources from the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines to select and interpret appropriate screening tests for obesity-related complications.

• Analyze cardiovascular, metabolic, and mechanical diagnostic results to address knowledge gaps and guide individualized obesity management.

• Evaluate how diagnostic overshadowing and systemic weight bias lead to under-screening or the misinterpretation of symptoms in patients living with obesity.

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]

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.

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 using the Edmonton Obesity Staging System  and the 5A’s Framework.

In this episode

• Why BMI can be part of the clinical assessment, but should never stand in for the whole person

• How the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) helps clinicians understand clinical severity, not just body size

• What the 4Ms can reveal about mental, mechanical, metabolic, and monetary drivers of obesity

• How a patient’s story can uncover barriers that a checklist may miss

• Why strength-based counselling can change the experience of care for both patients and clinicians

• How the 5As Team Tools can make obesity assessment more practical in primary care

• What it sounds like to speak with patients about weight concerns without blame, assumptions, or shame

Additional resources

• Free course: Obesity Assessment Essentials https://utm.guru/uqG2K 

• Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines https://utm.guru/uqG2M  

• Chapter: Primary Care and Primary Healthcare in Obesity Management https://utm.guru/uqG2N 

• Edmonton Obesity Staging System https://utm.guru/uqG27 

• Dr. Campbell-Scherer’s 5As Team Tools https://utm.guru/uqG3j 

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/uqG4F 

Learning Objectives

• Apply the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) to determine the clinical severity of obesity and prioritize individualized management strategies.

• Analyze the mental, mechanical, metabolic, and monetary (4Ms) drivers of a patient's obesity to move beyond BMI-centric assessments.

• Evaluate how utilizing the EOSS framework reduces systemic weight bias by shifting clinical focus from weight loss to meaningful health outcomes and functional stewardship.

• Apply a patient-centered approach to establish values-based goals and assess obesity classification (BMI/waist circumference), while respecting patient readiness and comfort during the initial clinical encounter.

• Analyze the mental, mechanical, metabolic, and monetary (4Ms) framework to comprehensively evaluate adiposity-related complications and root causes of weight gain.

• Evaluate disease severity using the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) to prioritize patient-centered management for patients living with obesity

  Have a topic you’d like us to cover?

Email us at [email protected]

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.

🎙️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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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.