New procedure adds to Edmonton's weight-loss legacy

A non-surgical procedure at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is the latest local innovation in weight loss, though another looks likely to follow. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is a method of stitching the stomach from the inside, with tiny tools inserted via a tube down the throat. While it is performed under general anaesthesia, it's much less invasive than other kinds of bariatric surgery and usually takes about an hour and a half. "Rather than having a complex surgery requiring extensive recovery, patients have access to technology that requires no cuts or incisions that allows them to go home the same or next day," upper gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon Noah Switzer said in a release. The procedure is covered by Alberta Health Services upon referral.

Edmonton is home to Obesity Canada, which has successfully advocated for greater understanding of and empathy for the condition. Plus, Arya Sharma and Raj Padwal developed the Edmonton Obesity Staging System at the University of Alberta, taking a more nuanced approach to diagnosing obesity than the Body Mass Index method. In 2025, Alberta became the first province to recognize obesity as a chronic disease. That was progress, but there's still room for action, Tasneem Sajwani of the Edmonton Weight Management Centre said in a sponsored piece marking the one-year anniversary: "The hope is that having a declaration that obesity is a chronic disease will seep into policy-making decisions and research funding," she said. "We hope it will help bring this knowledge into medical schools, maybe even into public campaigns, to really change the conversation, not only here in Alberta but across Canada."

It's drugs like Ozempic that are at the forefront of weight-loss conversations today, and they, too, have a local connection. Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation is working with Vimy Pharma to produce a generic GLP-1 drug. API anticipates completing the federally funded Critical Medicines Production Centre this year. Vimy submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Submission to Health Canada last month, and the federal agency has recently shown an appetite to approve generic semaglutide drugs, after being the first among G7 countries to do so in April.