Show Notes
🎙️ 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 advocate, to explore what compassionate, evidence-based support for children, youth, and their families can look like. From reframing outdated assumptions to tackling bias, Dr. Hadjiyannakis shares her journey, insights, and vision for better pediatric care.
In this episode: What inspired Dr. Hadjiyannakis to focus on pediatric obesity care
The science of body weight regulation in children and youth
Why stigma and bias are so damaging in pediatric care—and what to do differently
The importance of listening, curiosity, and whole-family support
How systemic gaps in education and care access continue to impact kids and families
A hopeful look at what better care could mean for the next generation
Additional resources: Canadian Pediatric Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines: https://utm.guru/ui7Ph
Edmonton Obesity Staging System for Pediatrics: https://utm.guru/ui7Pi
Free course: Intro to Pediatric Obesity: https://utm.guru/ui7Pj
Explore all of Obesity Canada’s education offerings: https://utm.guru/ui7Pk
Don’t miss the Canadian Obesity Summit 2026 Obesity Canada’s flagship scientific congress returns March 25–29, 2026, in Montréal, Québec. It’s where Canada’s obesity community comes together — researchers, and healthcare professionals— to exchange ideas, share the latest science, and put evidence into practice.
Get the event details: https://utm.guru/ui7Pl
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Thanks for tuning in—and stay with us as we continue to scale up your practice.
More from Scale Up Your Practice by Obesity Canada
🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada
What happens when healthcare professionals know what evidence-informed obesity care should look like, but the system makes that care difficult to deliver? Ian Patton and Jennifer Brown join us on the podcast to unpack findings from The State of Obesity Care in Canada report and connect them to what clinicians and patients experience every day: limited referral pathways, uneven treatment coverage, gaps in psychological support, inconsistent access to metabolic bariatric surgery and the effects of weight bias at the system level.
🎙️This episode is sponsored by an unrestricted education grant from Eli Lilly Canada
🎙️This episode was made possible through the partnership between Obesity Canada and Boehringer Ingelheim in support of the Global Patient Charter Framework initiative.
🎙️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.