Doctor’s weight-loss drug offer to Sask. body positive group insensitive: founder

Cierra Giesbrecht, founder of The Curvy Club, a Saskatoon group focused on body positivity, expressed dismay over an email from a local doctor offering weight-loss medication prescriptions. Giesbrecht described the outreach as "insensitive" and questioned the promotion and prescription practices surrounding GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.

Initially thinking the Facebook message was a prank, Giesbrecht was taken aback when she realized it was from Dr. Dennis Wardman, an addiction medicine physician who had recently moved to Saskatoon. "At first, I thought it was a troll," Giesbrecht told Global News. "I couldn’t believe that an actual health-care provider in our province would be so bold."

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At first, I thought it was a troll. I couldn’t believe that an actual health-care provider in our province would be so bold.

Dr. Wardman explained in his message that he had begun prescribing weight-loss medication at a clinic in Regina and could assist patients over the telephone, regardless of their location within Saskatchewan. He inquired if The Curvy Club might be interested in such services. Giesbrecht promptly responded, stating the group was not interested "like at all."

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A few months ago [I] started prescribing weight loss medication at a clinic I work at in Regina. I am able to assist patients over the telephone so they don’t need to reside in Regina, but can be anywhere in Saskatchewan. Just wondering if this is something the group may be interested in?

Wardman confirmed sending the message and, in an email to Global News, stated his interest in weight-loss medicine stems from its similarities to addiction treatment, involving lifestyle changes and medication. He respected the group's decision to decline his offer. The Curvy Club, founded by Giesbrecht nearly five years ago, provides a space for individuals in larger bodies to connect and discuss issues they might not share with family or friends.

Giesbrecht voiced concern that the doctor's outreach assumed members of a body-positive group would be interested in weight-loss medication. "We may not be interested, like myself, interested in drugs like this, but when we have that noise, obviously it weighs down on a person," she said. "Like, is something wrong with my body? Maybe I should be looking at this. Maybe I am making a choice to live in a larger body when there is drugs like these available." GLP-1 agonists, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, work by stimulating insulin release, reducing liver sugar production, and promoting satiety by slowing digestion.

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We may not be interested, like myself, interested in drugs like this, but when we have that noise, obviously it weighs down on a person. Like, is something wrong with my body? Maybe I should be looking at this. Maybe I am making a choice to live in a larger body when there is drugs like these available.