The State of Obesity Care in Canada
A health system roadmap for better obesity care
It’s time to treat obesity as a chronic disease
Obesity is a progressive, relapsing chronic disease. A new Obesity Canada benchmark report looks at how well Canada’s policies, programs, and health systems align with current obesity science and clinical guidance.
For Canadians living with obesity, access to obesity care often depends less on clinical need than on income, benefits coverage, geography, and local capacity.
The result is delayed treatment, worsening health outcomes, greater pressure on families and rising costs to Canada’s health system, workforce, and economy.
What do we mean by obesity care?
Obesity care can include different types of support, depending on what a person needs. That may include clinical assessment, support for mental health and behaviour change, nutrition and physical activity support, medications, metabolic bariatric surgery when appropriate, and long-term follow-up.
The goal of obesity care is not only weight loss. It’s better health, function and quality of life, with care that reflects each person’s health, goals, values and circumstances.
What this report shows
Obesity is recognized in Canadian clinical guidance as a chronic disease, but policy, measurement, funding and treatment access have not consistently caught up. The report identifies five system gaps in obesity care and six actions governments and health systems can take to improve access to evidence-informed care.
Why action is needed
0
%
of Canadian adults live with obesity*1
*Based on current BMI-based definitions
0
+
Health conditions associated with obesity2
1- Statistics Canada. An overview of weight and height measurements on World Obesity Day. Available at: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/5742-overview-weight-and-height-measurements-world-obesity-day.
2- Yuen MMA. Health Complications of Obesity: 224 Obesity-Associated Comorbidities from a Mechanistic Perspective. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2023 Jun;52(2):363-380. doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2023.03.006.
3- Chen, F., Sapra, T., Natale, Z. et al. Modeling the cost of inaction in treating obesity in Canada. BMC Public Health 25, 865 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21905-2
$
0
B
Estimated annual cost of inaction in treating obesity in Canada3
Cost breakdown
$21.7B
in indirect costs
$5.9B
in direct
healthcare costs
healthcare costs
This annual estimate reflects what happens when obesity is not consistently recognized, measured, treated and supported as a chronic disease.
1- Statistics Canada. An overview of weight and height measurements on World Obesity Day. Available at: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/5742-overview-weight-and-height-measurements-world-obesity-day.
2- Yuen MMA. Health Complications of Obesity: 224 Obesity-Associated Comorbidities from a Mechanistic Perspective. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2023 Jun;52(2):363-380. doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2023.03.006.
3- Chen, F., Sapra, T., Natale, Z. et al. Modeling the cost of inaction in treating obesity in Canada. BMC Public Health 25, 865 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21905-2
Five system gaps are holding back better obesity care
Help decision-makers see the gaps
Send the State of Obesity Care in Canada report to your government representative and ask them to support better obesity care.
What these gaps mean for patients and healthcare teams
These system gaps shape whether people can find care, whether healthcare professionals have the tools and pathways to provide it, and whether our healthcare system supports care that reflects current evidence and clinical guidance.
Years of waiting for care while health outcomes worsen
I am a 50-year-old trucker living with obesity and multiple obesity-related conditions. I have spent decades trying to manage my health on my own, and nearly 10 years trying to get the help I need while still working and supporting my family.
Since my referral for bariatric surgery eight years ago, I have been enrolled in programs at three different hospitals, with very different experiences. I still have not received surgery, and my health has gotten worse.
I assumed bariatric programs in the same province, using the same evidence and guidelines, would have similar criteria. They did not. That inconsistency cost me years.
— Al Martin
When medication coverage doesn’t reflect the science
Every week, we see patients who meet clinical criteria for obesity medication, and every week, we spend hours we do not have to navigate pre-authorizations, denials and appeals.
The coverage forms we complete remain fixated on a single metric: BMI. They ask whether BMI has dropped enough to justify ongoing use, as though a number on a scale captures the full picture of a patient’s health.
Coverage criteria should reflect the science: validated measures, ethnicity-specific thresholds and staging systems like the EOSS that capture what actually matters: the burden of disease on the whole person.
— Dr. Roshan Abraham, MD, Family Physician & Associate Professor, University of Alberta
What team-based obesity care can make possible
Before I was referred into the bariatric program, obesity care meant talking to my family doctor and accepting whatever answer I was given. That was it.
Once I was referred, everything changed. I had access to a full team of healthcare professionals, including dietitians, an exercise specialist, a nurse practitioner and others. I also discovered educational classes I had never known were available.
Those classes started me on an educational health journey that I truly believe saved my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my healthcare team.
— Tara Clelland
When insurance paperwork takes time away from care
The hardest conversations in our clinic are with patients who have finally built up the courage to seek treatment for a disease, often after years of hesitation and stigma, only to be denied coverage after meeting every clinical criterion.
The administrative burden of obesity medication coverage is substantial and often invisible. Patients gather documentation and wait. Physicians complete forms and letters. The healthcare team chases faxes, follows up with insurers and manages appeals.
None of this work is reimbursed by public or private payers, yet every hour spent navigating a denial is an hour taken away from providing direct patient care.
— Khalid Bhatti, R.Ph., M.Pharm., CDE
When mental health support is out of reach
As both a former bariatric surgery patient and a mental health professional, I have experienced firsthand the consequences of a healthcare system that continues to treat physical and mental health as separate issues.
Following my surgery, I experienced significant complications. Yet the most difficult part of my recovery was the psychological impact. The trauma, fear, grief and emotional adjustment that followed were profound, but access to psychotherapy was financially out of reach.
Psychological care is not an optional add-on to obesity treatment. It is a fundamental component of safe, evidence-based care.
— Vicki-Anne Rodrigue, M.Ed., CCC, Patient with lived experience & Canadian Certified Counsellor
Better obesity care is possible
Canada does not need to start from zero. We have strong clinical guidance, healthcare professionals working to improve care and people with lived experience helping define what respectful care should feel like. What is needed now is alignment between what the science says and what systems actually deliver.
Six actions governments and health systems can take
Progress will require coordinated federal, provincial, and territorial action. Governments, health systems, professional bodies, and benefits providers all have a role to play.
These actions help close the gap between clinical guidance and the policies, funding and pathways people rely on to access care.
Read the full report
The State of Obesity Care in Canada brings together evidence, benchmark findings and lived experience to show where system gaps remain and what better obesity care could look like.
This report is for policymakers, health system leaders, healthcare professionals, advocates and anyone who wants to see obesity treated as the chronic disease it is.
Help move this report from evidence to action
People living with obesity deserve care that reflects the science, respects their dignity and supports their health over time. Decision makers need to hear that better obesity care matters to Canadians.
Send this report to your government representative and ask them to support policies that recognize, measure, fund and deliver obesity care as chronic disease care.
It only takes a minute to add your voice.
Frequently asked questions
What does the State of Obesity Care in Canada report show?
Obesity is recognized in Canadian clinical guidance as a chronic disease, but policy, measurement, funding and treatment access have not consistently caught up. The report identifies five system gaps in obesity care and six actions governments and health systems can take to improve access to evidence-informed obesity care.
What are the main system gaps in obesity care in Canada?
The report identifies gaps in obesity measurement, primary care pathways, surgical access, medication coverage and psychological care.
What can governments and health systems do to improve obesity care in Canada?
Governments can recognize obesity as a chronic disease, modernize measurement, integrate obesity care into primary care, enable healthcare professionals with evidence-based education and practical clinical resources, fund comprehensive obesity care and enact policies to reduce weight bias.
Why does improving obesity care matter for health systems in Canada?
Delayed or inaccessible obesity care can worsen health outcomes, increase pressure on families and contribute to rising costs across Canada’s health system, workforce and economy.
What is a benchmark report?
The State of Obesity Care in Canada benchmark report compares what exists now with what evidence-informed care should look like. This report looks at where obesity care in Canada is aligned with current clinical guidance and where system gaps remain.
How are you defining obesity?
In the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, obesity is defined as a chronic, progressive, relapsing disease where excess adiposity (fat tissue) impairs health.
English (Canada) 
Français du Canada