Registration for this event is closed.
If you need assistance, please contact marketing@globeandmail.com.
Socio-economic status, gender disparities, and regional differences often shape the prevalence and outcomes of obesity. These factors, combined with the stigmas directed at those living with obesity, makes managing what is increasingly viewed as a chronic disease even more challenging.
Join The Globe and Mail for an event where experts will discuss how treating obesity as a chronic disease can prevent a range of other health conditions and reduce costs to Canada’s economy long term.
Registration for this event is closed.
If you need assistance, please contact marketing@globeandmail.com.
Hans Krueger
President of H. Krueger & Associates Inc.; Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health
Lisa Schaffer
Executive Director, Obesity Canada
Megha Poddar, MD, FRCPC, ABOM;
Endocrinology & Metabolism, Obesity Medicine Medical Director, Medical Weight Management Centre of Canada; Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct), McMaster University
Moderator: André Picard
Health Reporter and Columnist, The Globe and Mail
Eli Lilly and Company is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. In November 2024, Obesity Canada and Eli Lilly Canada partnered to launch an economic analysis showing that the failure to recognize and address obesity as a chronic disease is costing the Canadian economy over $27 billion annually.
TERMS & CONDITIONSÂ Â Â |Â Â PRIVACY POLICYÂ |Â ACCESSIBILITY POLICYÂ |Â GLOBEANDMAIL.COM
Lisa Schaffer is a results-driven leader with over 25 years of experience in strategic leadership, relationship building, and brand development. As the Executive Director of Obesity Canada, Lisa leads the organization’s advocacy, research, and education efforts, ensuring its mission to support those living with obesity. Her professional background includes serving as VP of Client Success at BSTRO, where she excelled in creative problem solving, client relations, and team Leadership.
Lisa’s journey with Obesity Canada began over seven years ago as a patient advocate, where she utilized her personal experience navigating obesity treatments—including Gastric Sleeve surgery and pharmacotherapy—to raise awareness and combat stigma. Now, as Executive Director, she draws on her deep understanding of the disease and her extensive professional expertise to drive meaningful change, build partnerships, and shape the future of obesity care in Canada.
André Picard is a health reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of six bestselling books.
André is a two-time winner of the Columns category at Canada's National Newspaper Awards, and past winner of prestigious Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism.
He was named Canada’s first Public Health Hero by the Canadian Public Health Association, and a Champion of Mental Health by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his dedication to improving healthcare.
André is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and has received honorary doctorates from eight universities, including UBC and the University of Toronto.
Hans Krueger is the founder of H Krueger & Associates Inc. The company was founded in 1995 as a healthcare consulting firm providing economic and epidemiological analyses for a variety of major health authorities and agencies in British Columbia. The company has expanded to provide services across Canada, including federal and national agencies.
Krueger is an award-winning author with a reputation for a rational and disciplined approach to research and analysis. He has contributed to almost 30 peer-reviewed publications and has co-authored five books.
A key research interest of his is the economic impact of risk factors for chronic disease (i.e. excess weight, tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use) and the potential for cost avoidance associated with reducing the prevalence of these risk factors in the population.
Dr. Megha Poddar is an Endocrinologist and Obesity Medicine Specialist based in Toronto, Ontario. She holds a diplomate from the American Board of Obesity Medicine and serves as an Assistant Professor at McMaster University. Dr. Poddar is the Medical Director at the Medical Weight Management Centre of Canada, a national program offering medical and behavioural therapy for obesity.
She has published extensively on obesity, including as an author of the Canadian Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, and was a member of the international working group for patient-reported outcome measurement with ICHOM. Dr. Poddar serves as a clinical advisor to several organizations—including Shoppers Drug Mart and Nymble Health—with the goal of improving the implementation of evidence-based obesity care both nationally and globally.
She is deeply committed to mentoring healthcare providers in obesity management and clinical program development, and is a passionate advocate for patients living with obesity.