{"id":23123,"date":"2014-08-22T06:06:16","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T22:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=23123"},"modified":"2014-08-21T18:34:53","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T10:34:53","slug":"bazinga-edmonton-doctor-uses-laughs-to-help-people-learn-about-obesity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/08\/22\/bazinga-edmonton-doctor-uses-laughs-to-help-people-learn-about-obesity\/","title":{"rendered":"Bazinga! Edmonton doctor uses laughs to help people learn about obesity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"shutterstock_136685702\"<\/a><\/p>\n

EDMONTON\u2014Dr. Arya Sharma, one of the leading experts on obesity in Canada, doesn\u2019t make fat jokes.<\/p>\n

But he still pokes fun at the science, stereotypes and struggles of being overweight.<\/p>\n

The 54-year-old is the chair of obesity research at the University of Alberta, the scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network\u2014and a budding comedian.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Sharma began touring the country with what he describes as a half-comedy-routine, half-motivational-speech called \u201cStop Being a Yo-Yo.\u201d The show, which continues in the fall, bills itself as \u201ca light-hearted look at the ups and downs of weight loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, after trying out at some open mic comedy nights in Edmonton bars, the funny physician joined the city\u2019s Fringe festival in a one-man show titled \u201cWeighty Confessions of an Obesity Guru.\u201d<\/p>\n

His seven shows have sold out, and he says there has been demand for more.<\/p>\n

So far, he says, a large part of his audience seems to consist of people who are bringing friends and family members with weight problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this was just a pure talk on obesity, it would be very hard to get those people to come out. But the whole thing is a show and we promise them humour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharma says there\u2019s a fine line between being funny and informative, without being insulting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, I don\u2019t think that obesity is a laughing matter. It is a very serious health problem that we need to know more about,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think comedy can actually be a good way to get people to think and talk about a topic that you\u2019re uncomfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharma says he was the class clown as a kid but had no experience on stage.<\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s Fringe can be a bit daunting. It\u2019s known as the second-largest fringe festival in the world, behind the one in Edinburgh, Scotland.<\/p>\n

Being a researcher, Sharma hit the books to prepare for his show, reading up on how to tell the best jokes. He also sought advice from some stand-up comics.<\/p>\n

Some of his colleagues have told him he\u2019s courageous, he says.<\/p>\n

Others just think he\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n

During his 45-minute performance, he gets about 20 good laughs and another 20 chuckles, he says. The other lines that get only silence mean he still has work to do.<\/p>\n

For instance, when chatting with the audience about cheese, he wonders aloud why manufacturers can\u2019t make it more healthy without changing its great taste and texture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you guys just make the holes bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n

(Ba dum tsh.)<\/p>\n

While on the Fringe stage, Sharma also sports a moppy black wig to remind the audience that it\u2019s not a serious show and to keep him from falling back into professor mode.<\/p>\n

Then again, he is a professor.<\/p>\n

Sharma says his next show may actually take him back to the classroom. He\u2019s thinking of creating a course in comedy and science communication.<\/p>\n

About this, he\u2019s serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be: How do you take your scientific fact that\u2019s totally boring and is going to put people to sleep and turn that into a punchline that people will actually remember?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDMONTON\u2014Dr. Arya Sharma, one of the leading experts on obesity in Canada, doesn\u2019t make fat jokes. But he still pokes …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":23124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","mauthors-chris-purdy","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}