Posts Tagged ‘weight bias’

This week, we are in Montreal for the International Weight Bias Summit at Concordia University. A host of organizations committed to better strategies, policies, and care for people living with obesity are supporting this effort. Leading into the summit is the launch this week of a new and improved bias-free obesity image gallery at HLTH […]

Headlines and health plans depict the demand for advanced obesity medicines in terms of mania or a stampede. “The Ozempic craze is booming in the United States,” says the University of Kentucky healthcare system. But is it reasonable to describe the people seeking these medicines as crazed? Or is this really an expression of false […]

For several years, it looked like the fashion industry might be moving from promoting a “thin ideal” to making room for size diversity. In fact, France passed a law in 2017 to ban the use of models with unhealthy thinness in the industry. Vogue started producing an annual report in size inclusivity in 2023. But […]

Are we on the way to ending weight stigma or is it more stubbornly persistent than we might imagine? We found a clue to the persistence of bias in health professionals in a new commentary published by the Washington Post. From his perch at the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Preston Lee writes: “Like many doctors, […]

FDA is working hard to push drug companies to get more diversity into the clinical trials that are the foundation for bringing new, safe, and effective drugs into the market. In June, the agency issued guidance for diversity action plans to improve the representation of marginalized populations. But unfortunately, it has nothing to say about […]

How is the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement coping with advances in obesity science? The need for fighting weight bias is as great as ever. But relevance of the anti-science dimension of HAES – suggesting that obesity is not a valid health concern – is fading. It simply doesn’t hold up well in light […]

New research reminds us of something that just about any person living with obesity can tell you. The prevailing bias against people living with obesity favors medical neglect. Especially for someone living with significant obesity, it is all too common to have providers dismiss medical complaints or blame them on obesity and simply instruct the […]

New survey research from YouGov serves up a timely reminder of the problem with weight bias in healthcare. The research, fielded in late June, found that most American adults (53%) have an unfavorable view of the U.S. healthcare system. About one in three persons report negative treatment because of their identity. And weight is the […]

“Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Ancient texts remind us there is nothing new about stigma and bias toward people living with illness and disability. But still, it is jarring to encounter such expressions of weight bias as the Telegraph published not long ago. William Sitwell wrote: “Fat people are costing us all billions. […]

Richard Simmons died last week at the age of 76 after a lifetime of making people smile and never letting the perfect be an enemy of the good. Fat Youth with Curly Hair Simmons had a distinctive body image from an early age. He was a heavy child at the age of four and knew […]