Western Zone Obesity Network · For Professionals
The Western Zone Obesity Network offers referral pathways, clinical tools, and consultation support to help you care for patients living with obesity and metabolic disease, close to home and grounded in the evidence.
The Model
The Western Zone Obesity Network is being built on a simple idea: bring together the people, programs, and places that help patients reach better metabolic health. The aim is to keep the family practice at the centre, to close three long-standing gaps (longitudinal lifestyle programs, access to evidence-based therapies, and timely bariatric surgery), and to connect obesity care with the chronic-disease and specialty services patients already use. This is early work, with a long way to go.
Family physicians, nurse practitioners, and collaborative care teams stay at the centre of every plan — supported, not replaced, by the network.
Integrated with diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic (MASLD) programs — where treating obesity has the greatest leverage on outcomes.
Coordinated with cardiovascular and heart-failure care, where weight and metabolic management improve symptoms and prognosis.
Linked with orthopedic and musculoskeletal care — osteoarthritis, and optimization before and after joint replacement.
Connected to internal medicine and bariatric surgery for the patients who need them, with clear pathways in and back.
Shared tools, referral pathways, and consultation support so patients move through assessment, therapy, and surgery without fragmented care.
Search a map of every primary care clinic and outpatient site in the Western Zone to see contact details and the allied-health resources at each location — including where dietitian support is full-time, part-time, or currently vacant.
Matching patients to the right local supports is easier when you can see, at a glance, which clinics have a dietitian and how to reach them.
In Your Practice
The Obesity Canada guidelines reframe the encounter around the patient’s health and root causes — not a number on the scale. The 5As offer a simple structure for the conversation.
The Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) grades the impact of obesity on a patient’s physical, mental, and functional health (Stage 0–4). It predicts risk and need for treatment far better than BMI alone, and helps prioritize who benefits most from intensive therapy.
“Best weight” is the weight a patient can achieve while still living a life they enjoy — not an idealized BMI. Even 5–10% loss meaningfully improves glycemia, blood pressure, MASLD, and joint pain. We frame goals around health, function, and quality of life.
Clinical Resources
Evidence-based references developed by the Western Zone Obesity Network team. Read online or download the full PDF.
Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and other agents — mechanism, expected efficacy, side-effect management, titration schedules, contraindications, and cost. Includes a practical dose-escalation method.
The clinical foundations — pathophysiology, why weight is biologically defended, and the full treatment range from behaviour change to medication and surgery. A useful primer to share with patients and learners.
Indications, the procedures offered (sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass), perioperative expectations, and the surgical referral pathway through the network’s surgical lead.
Pre- and post-operative nutrition — the bariatric plate, protein priorities, and lifelong micronutrient monitoring — to support patients you co-manage after surgery.
A referring-physician guide to bariatric surgery — obesity classification and staging, the 4 M’s, surgical criteria, peri-operative medications, pre-operative workup, and the post-operative lab schedule for sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.
A dietitian-facing guide to pre- and post-operative nutrition follow-up and micronutrient management — assessment, the TMR period, follow-up by stage, red flags, lab monitoring, and daily supplementation dosing.
Assessment templates, the 5As workflow, and shared care pathways for the primary care home are in active development. Get in touch and we’ll share current versions as they’re ready.
A Canadian, dietitian-led medical weight-management program — nutrition therapy plus behaviour-change coaching, one-on-one virtual sessions, and support for patients on or considering GLP-1 therapy. A useful option for patients who need structured dietitian support beyond what’s available locally.
How We Treat
Effective obesity care usually combines more than one pillar. We help match the right intensity of treatment to each patient’s stage and goals.
Nutrition, activity, sleep, and psychological support — the foundation under every other treatment, supported by our dietitian lead and the free patient course.
Anti-obesity pharmacotherapy when indicated — including GLP-1 and GIP/GLP-1 agonists — selected, titrated, and monitored alongside your ongoing care.
For eligible patients, assessment and referral for bariatric surgery through the network’s surgical pathway, with shared follow-up.
We’re building a connected system of care across the Annapolis Valley — linking primary care, chronic disease programs, dietitians, and surgical services. If you’d like to collaborate, host an education session, or help shape local pathways, we’d love to hear from you.
When primary care, specialty medicine, and surgery work as one network, patients spend less time waiting and more time getting better.
Refer a Patient
For comprehensive assessment and ongoing medical management, send a referral to the clinic.
Send your referral to the clinic for comprehensive assessment and ongoing medical management. Include a recent medication list, relevant labs, and the patient’s weight history where available — see below for what makes a referral easy to action.
A Helpful Referral Includes
Reason for referral, weight history, BMI/waist, and obesity-related conditions (T2D, MASLD, OSA, hypertension, dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis).
Full medication list — flag weight-promoting agents — plus any prior weight-management treatments, including medications already tried.
A1c, lipids, renal and liver function, TSH, and any imaging or specialist notes that bear on assessment and treatment selection.
Referral Details
Get in Touch
Questions about a referral, a clinical pathway, or collaborating across the network? Reach out — we’re glad to help.