Unlearn to Learn will challenge everything you thought you knew about obesity, improve your knowledge through insight and explanation – leaving any judgement at the door. Brought to you by World Obesity Federation and Scope E-Learning, join renowned medical practitioners and professors to untangle the myths and misconceptions around the disease, busting myths and using science and data to give you the full picture. Join the conversation at @worldobesity with #unlearntolearn www.worldobesity.org

Let’s kick off Unlearn to Learn! Our podcast is all about challenging what we think we know about obesity. To launch the series, our host Alexander French from World Obesity Federation is joined by Dr Arya Sharma, Professor Emeritus of Medicine & Past-Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta, and the Past-Clinical Co-Chair of the Alberta Health Services Obesity Program. There are countless myths about living with and managing obesity. For example, a common myth is that obesity is primarily caused by inactivity, a lack of physical exercise and/or unhealthy dietary habits. Almost all preventative and therapeutic programs for obesity focus on curbing an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity and thereby neglect other possible contributors to the disease. In this episode, Dr Sharma explores common misconceptions with Alexander, from genetics to management programmes, and even how terminology and perceptions around obesity can impact patients.

Welcome to episode 2. The episode focuses on the variations of obesity across different ethnic groups - weight stigma and attitudes towards obesity vary greatly across cultures. To discuss this and more, Alexander is joined by Dr Fatima Stanford. Dr Stanford is an obesity medicine physician scientist, educator, and policy maker at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. As well as analysing and examining the myriad cultural differences relating to obesity, Dr Stanford takes Alexander through a history of bias in the media, and how healthcare professionals and practitioners can avoid stigma and influence from harmful stereotypes. Dr Stanford references the Implicit Association Test. Find out more here: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/uk/takeatest.html

Across the first 2 episodes of Unlearn to Learn, we were joined by healthcare professionals from the US and Canada. In this episode, we shift the format slightly, to a discussion between a specialist and a patient, to hear how the treatment of obesity impacts on mental wellbeing. We’ll be joined by Professor Carel Le Roux from the University College Dublin, and Wendy Reaser, a patient living with obesity from Saskatchewan, Canada. Carel is Director of the Metabolic Medicine Group. He obtained his PhD from Imperial College London, and then moved to University College Dublin as Chair in Experimental Pathology.

Unlearn to Learn is back! We rejoin the series with episode 4, focusing on bariatric surgery; why and when it’s necessary, what the procedure involves and what patients can expect following surgery. To discuss this and more, Alexander is joined by Dr Lilian Kow. Dr Kow is an Associate Professor and the Clinical Director of Gastrointestinal surgery at Flinders University in South Australia. Bariatric surgery is a complex procedure to treat a complex disease. Dr Kow has visited bariatric clinics all over the world and advised and trained surgeons in the treatment and support of patients who have the surgery. Spread the word: Follow, like, share, review We want to build a Unlearn to Learn community. That starts with helping to spread the word about this series. COME AND SAY HELLO: We’d love to see your reviews and feedback – let us know what you think, and any questions you have with #UnlearntoLearn on Twitter. Unlearn to Learn is produced in partnership with The Podcast Guys. It is WOF’s policy to use People-First Language and we ask all of our guests to do so, although we realize it is still not used in every setting so you might hear some guests not adhering to the policy. WOF will continue to remind all people involved with our Podcast to adopt People-First Language and to encourage all media, bloggers and others to utilise People-First Language in their writing and talking so that we can further eradicate weight bias and stigma

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the health of patients living with obesity. Two national lockdowns in 18 months saw obesity rates increase. Was it due to the impact on people’s mental health? In this episode, Alexander is joined by Professor Donna Ryan, Professor Emeritus at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to answer this question and more. Professor Ryan explores the challenges of ‘long COVID’ in relation to obesity, explains why vaccines are crucial in providing protection, and provides counsel to some common misconceptions around COVID and obesity. In our 5th episode of Unlearn to Learn, and as we start to emerge from 2 years of the pandemic, it’s time to unlearn everything you thought you know about COVID-19 and its impact on patients living with obesity. Spread the word: Follow, like, share, review We want to build a Unlearn to Learn community. That starts with helping to spread the word about this series. COME AND SAY HELLO: We’d love to see your reviews and feedback – let us know what you think, and any questions you have with #UnlearntoLearn on Twitter. The team @worldobesity will be in touch, do follow us there for more information on Unlearn to Learn. Want to tell us more? You can tell us more or more in-depth feedback here - Unlearn to Learn - What do you think?

Childhood obesity is often carried through into adulthood, due to both physiological, behavioural, and environmental factors. Preventing obesity in this age group provides a unique opportunity to halt a course to unhealthy adult life. In this episode, newly appointed President of the World Obesity Federation Professor Louise Baur joins Alexander to discuss childhood obesity: how and why it has increased in prevalence around the world, practical advice for parents and healthcare professionals in mitigating the risks, and the impact of modern society and media on growing minds and bodies. Spread the word: Follow, like, share, review We want to build a Unlearn to Learn community. That starts with helping to spread the word about this series. COME AND SAY HELLO: We’d love to see your reviews and feedback – let us know what you think, and any questions you have with #UnlearntoLearn on Twitter. The team @worldobesity will be in touch, do follow us there for more information on Unlearn to Learn. Want to tell us more? You can tell us more or more in-depth feedback here - Unlearn to Learn - What do you think?

In today’s society, we’ve cultivated an ethos of instant gratification. Life is fast-paced. The role that nutrition plays in both preventing and treating obesity is crucial. Nutrition is a critical part of both health and development. Better diet and nutrition have shown to improve health, immune systems, lead to less lethargy, and more consistent energy levels and life longevity. Whilst the causes of obesity are varied and involve a complex interplay between dietary factors and various internal genetics and external exposures, the role of nutrition is key not only for obesity but for our overall health. In this episode of Unlearn to Learn, we’ll be talking about nutrition and the dietetic assessment. Through this, we’ll touch upon a bespoke form of treatment labelled ‘personalised nutrition’ and go on to look at the different types of diet out there, as well as the dietitian’s role as part of a multidisciplinary health team. In this episode, Honorary Consultant Dietitian Mary O’Kane from Leeds Teaching Hospitals joins Alexander to discuss how various psychosocial issues and factors can affect weight, as well as eating behaviours and disorders. We’d love to see your reviews and feedback – let us know what you think, and any questions you have with #UnlearntoLearn on Twitter. The team @worldobesity will be in touch, do follow us there for more information on Unlearn to Learn. Want to tell us more? You can tell us more or more in-depth feedback here - Unlearn to Learn - What do you think? Unlearn to Learn is produced in partnership with The Podcast Guys

Behavioural modification and lifestyle adjustments are the first step in treating obesity. Whilst these are important in treating obesity, it is difficult to achieve or sustain the process of weight loss, especially long-term through these alone. Pharmacotherapy has quickly surfaced as an alternative therapeutic approach to intensive lifestyle intervention; essentially bridging the gap between behaviour changes and more intense treatment such as surgery. In this episode of Unlearn to Learn, we’ll be delving into the world of Pharmacotherapy with Dr Caroline Apovian. Caroline joins Alexander to discuss what FDA approved medicine is currently being used to treat obesity, as well as some of the benefits and risks associated with drug treatment. As always on the podcast, they’ll debunk some common myths surrounding obesity medication before analysing the science behind it and examining the relationship and potential causality between multiple different drugs and the disease itself. Spread the word: Follow, like, share, review We want to build a Unlearn to Learn community. That starts with helping to spread the word about this series. COME AND SAY HELLO: We’d love to see your reviews and feedback – let us know what you think, and any questions you have with #UnlearntoLearn on Twitter. The team @worldobesity will be in touch, do follow us there for more information on Unlearn to Learn. Want to tell us more? You can tell us more or more in-depth feedback here - Unlearn to Learn - What do you think? Unlearn to Learn is produced in partnership with The Podcast Guys

Across 8 episodes of our debut podcast series Unlearn to Learn, we’ve established that obesity is nothing if not a complex disease. Studies have shown that obesity is multifactorial and everything from socio-economic factors to poor mental health can contribute to the increase in cases over the years. With its pinpoint precision and set of diagnostic tools, modern technology has allowed researchers to explore how genetics play a role in the cause of obesity, advancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of weight gain and regulation tenfold. In this episode, the final episode of Unlearn to Learn, we’ll be taking a closer look at the relationship between obesity and genetics with Professor Sadaf Farooqi. Sadaf joins Alexander to discuss how genetics and biology can interact with other factors, such as environment, in increasing a patient’s risk of obesity. They also explore the science behind the leptin hormone and its relationship to weight regulation. SUPPORT UNLEARN TO LEARN: Are you part of an organisation, medical society or healthcare setting that wants to promote Unlearn to Learn? Unlearn to Learn is produced in partnership with The Podcast Guys