Arya Sharma

Professor, Medicine Division of of Endocrinology and Metabolism Chair, Obesity Research and Management Clinical co-chair, Alberta Health Services Obesity Program Founder and Scientific Director, Obesity Canada (formerly Canadian Obesity Network)

20 September 2018

Arya Sharma is on a mission to improve the lives of Canadians affected by obesity.

Author and co-author of more than 350 scientific articles, he lectures internationally, maintains a widely read obesity blog and regularly makes headlines worldwide as the go-to medical expert on evidence-based prevention and management of obesity and its complications.

He is a strong advocate to address the social stigmas, bias and discriminations associated with obesity, challenging the media, health professionals and policy-makers to transform their approaches to create better resources for people living with overweight and obesity.

"For most Canadians, you're going to have a lot of difficulty getting access to treatment," said Sharma in a recent interview with The Guardian. "There is not a lot of acceptance for treating obesity as a chronic disease by the public and not just because of the costs but because of the stigma."

Look for Sharma making a cameo on UAlberta health law professor Tim Caulfield's new medical myth busting show A User's Guide To Cheating Death on Netflix.