Innovation Anthology #164: Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Statistics show that in Alberta, 20 percent of the population is obese.
The obesity crisis striking North America has prompted Edmonton’s Capital Health Region to try something completely different – It’s called the Weight Wise Program.
Leading this program is Dr. Arya Sharma, a professor of medicine at the University of Alberta and Canada’s foremost expert on obesity.
Dr. Sharma sees obesity as a chronic disease which requires a new, medical approach to its treatment.
DR. ARYA SHARMA: We are trying to build an Infrastructure that starting from a very basic community level where the emphasis is on prevention and healthy living etc, goes all the way to working with family doctors to make sure that when you go to your family doctor and have obesity as your problem, your family doctor and the allied health professionals actually know how to treat that condition. And when things get more complicated, or more serious, then you have the resources and the centres in place for patients who really have huge weight issues can go for help.
Dr. Sharma says treatment at obesity centres will eventually reduce the cost of related problems like diabetes, hypertentions and hip and knee replacements.
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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
Hans-Joachim Wieden, PhD,
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada,
Sponsor
Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure—state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories, databases, and the buildings necessary to conduct research. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.
Since its creation in 1997, CFI investments in research infrastructure have lead to breakthroughs in areas such as health, natural resources, information and communications technology, energy, and the environment.
La Fondation canadienne pour l’innovation (FCI) est un organisme autonome créé par le gouvernement du Canada pour financer l’infrastructure de recherche—l’équipement de pointe, les laboratoires, les bases de données de même que les bâtiments nécessaires pour mener des travaux de recherche. Le mandat de la FCI est de renforcer la capacité des universités, des collèges et des hôpitaux de recherche, de même que des établissements de recherche à but non lucratif du Canada de mener des projets de recherche et de développement technologique de calibre mondial qui produisent des retombées pour les Canadiens.
Depuis la création de la FCI en 1997, les investissements qu’elle a faits dans l’infrastructure ont mené à des percées dans des domaines tels que la santé, les ressources naturelles, les technologies de l’information et des communications, l’énergie et l’environnement.
Program Date: 2008-08-28