Healthy eating is important for all Canadians, regardless of body size, weight or health condition. Key messages from Canada’s Food Guide for Healthy Eating can be used as a foundation for nutrition and food-related education (Figure 1). Use evidence-based nutrition resources to give your patients nutr...
Pharmacological treatments are an effective and scalable approach to treating obesity. As with any chronic disease, such as type 2 diabetes (T2DM) or hypertension, pharmacotherapy is an important pillar in the management of obesity.
The focus of obesity management should be the improvement of health para...
Primary care clinicians should initiate patient-centred conversations with their patients about overweight or obesity. The 5As of Obesity ManagementTM (Ask-Assess-Advise-Agree-Assist) approach, starting with asking permission to discuss weight, is an appropriate format to use.
Primary care clinicians sho...
Policy makers developing obesity policies should assess and reflect on their own attitudes and beliefs related to obesity.
Public health policy makers should avoid using stigmatizing language and images. It is well established that shaming does not change behaviours. In fact, shaming can increase the lik...
besity is a chronic disease characterized by the presence of excessive and/or dysfunctional adipose tissue that impairs health and wellbeing.
Obesity increases the risk of serious chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, among others.
Obesity...
Obesity is a complex chronic disease in which abnormal or excess
body fat (adiposity) impairs health, increases the risk of long-term
medical complications and reduces life span. However, due to individual differences in body composition, body fat distribution and
function, the threshold to which adiposi...
Obesity is a heterogeneous disease that can develop via slow and steady weight gain over an extended period, or from rapid bursts of weight gain.
Regular assessments of body weight are needed to catch early weight gain. Use the Edmonton Obesity Staging System to evaluate if the patient has obesity.
Clini...
Asking patients about their performance in daily activities including personal care, mobility and interactions with the built and social environment will provide valuable information about facilitators and barriers to engagement in daily activities, including treatment recommendations. This can help heal...
Obesity is a chronic, progressive and relapsing disease, characterized by the presence of abnormal or excess adiposity that impairs health and social well-being.
Screening for obesity should be performed regularly by measuring body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
The clinical assessment of ob...
Be aware of the links between mental illness and obesity, and ensure you manage the weight gain side-effects of medications used in the treatment of mental illness.
Be aware that mental illness can impact obesity management efforts, and screen patients for potential mental illnesses that need to be a...
