Rethinking obesity: Biology, bias, and the next decade with Dr. Arya Sharma

In this episode, Dr. Arya Sharma, a leading voice in obesity medicine and founder of Obesity Canada, reflects on his journey from nephrology to becoming a pioneer in reshaping how physicians understand and treat obesity.Dr. Christine Palmay and Dr. Jeff Habert also explore how obesity care has evolved from outdated ideas of willpower and “eat less, move more” to a modern chronic disease framework grounded in biology and evidence.The discussion highlights the impact of GLP-1 medications and how they are changing both patient outcomes and clinical practice, while examining the ongoing challenge of stigma in healthcare and why BMI and scale weight alone are not sufficient to guide treatment decisions.Dr. Sharma ends the conversation discussing the importance of embedding obesity care within comprehensive medical management and his perspective on where obesity treatment is headed next.Join primary care physicians Dr. Christine Palmay and Dr. Jeff Habert as they share practical patient management strategies and clinical pearls to enhance your family medicine practice.For more information, visit primarycareconversations.com and explore resources related to each episode at primarycareconversations.com/en-ca/en/references-resources.This podcast is made possible through financial support from Amgen, Eisai, Lilly, Pfizer, Bausch Health, Organon, Sandoz and Bayer.