Obesity Action Launches Organization With Eat, Play, Love Series and ‘Love Has No Size’ Event for World Obesity Day

Obesity Education and Advocacy Group Focusing on Changing Dialogue Around Obesity is Launching Interactive Event Series on March 3

TORONTO, March 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With a goal of creating a future of weight acceptance where health and happiness are a priority, education and advocacy group Obesity Action is committed to promoting game-changing dialogue, ending fat shaming, and inspiring health and happiness.

Obesity Action is kicking off the launch of the non-profit organization with its interactive Eat, Play, Love series of weekly events, starting on March 3, where weight management patient advocates Rachel Atkins and Sandra Elia will interview experts and special guests before hosting an audience Q&A session to inspire empowerment action.

The first event, Love Has No Size, will feature CBC broadcaster Candy Palmater, talking about her struggle with weight stigma, and Dr. Sean Wharton who will address the inequalities people living with obesity face within our healthcare system.

“People living with increased weight should have the ability to go to a doctor and expect to be treated with compassion and they should be offered effective treatments for overweight and obesity. We now have effective treatments that we did not have 20 years ago, and it is time to change this condition for the better,” said Dr. Wharton.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the conversation around obesity as studies show people living with obesity are at a higher risk of complications from the disease. As World Obesity Day approaches on March 4, now is the time to change the conversation, end stigma and embrace a community of more than 17 million Canadian adults who live with obesity and overweight.

Priti Chawla, executive director of Obesity Action, explains that obesity has become a global crisis with profound social, economic and health implications for individuals and their communities.

“I struggled with weight and body perception issues and believed the misinformation that overweight and obesity challenges were my fault because I lacked willpower. Having a lived experience makes me that much closer and empathetic to individuals who deal with weight stigma. With Obesity Action we want to change the conversation from weight stigma and blame for having a disease, to empowerment and inclusion as part of a supportive community that accepts people of all sizes,” said Chawla.

“The receptivity Obesity Action has received from the community is overwhelmingly positive and signals that people with obesity are no longer going to accept being talked about and instead are choosing to engage in discussions on what optimal wellness and health means to them. Indeed, they expect the health care system and society to talk less and do more.”

Obesity Action was started by a group of four women who have gone through weight struggles and now want to share personal feelings, experiences, coping strategies and empower the community to advocate for better healthcare for themselves.

The Eat, Play, Love series begins Wednesday, March 3 at 12 p.m. to commemorate World Obesity Day. Events take place once a week for six weeks and are free to attend.

How Obesity Action is restoring the self-worth of those who struggle with weight issues:

• Promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F-AZRJCk14
• How to donate: https://obesityaction.ca/donate/
• Advocate with us: https://obesityaction.ca/advocacy/advocate-with-us/
• Blog: https://obesityaction.ca/news/welcome-to-the-obesity-action-blog-page/
• For more information about Obesity Action, visit obesityaction.ca
• To register for Eat, Play, Love: https://obesityaction.ca/events/eat-play-love/

About Obesity Action

We are Canadians just like you…who have lived with overweight and obesity. Now, we want to empower you, allow you to share your thoughts, reduce the feelings of isolation and frustration and provide credible resources. To learn more, visit us at obesityaction.ca.

For more information or to request an interview please contact:

Email: Rosie Childerhose | rosie_childerhose@yahoo.ca

Tel: (416) 559-1924