S1E3: The Effect of Weight Stigma on Health

Weight Stigma, and stigma in general, is an intricate and complicated subject that permeates the society we live in. We are all affected in some way by stigma, whether we are the subject of stigma, perpetrators of stigma, or both. Stigma also has a significant effect on long term health, making it an important subject for medical professionals to address personally and systemically.

 

In this week’s episode, we will discuss the 7 Weight Stigma Myths (As outlined in Body Respect):

  • Fatness leads to decreased longevity

  • Body Mass Index (BMI) is a valuable and accurate health measure

  • Fat plays a substantive role in causing disease

  • Exercise and dietary restriction are effective weight-loss techniques

  • We have evidence that weight loss improves health

  • Health is largely determined by health behaviors

  • Science is value free

 

"The only thing anyone can accurately diagnose when looking at a fat person is their own level of weight prejudice."                                    - Marilyn Wann

 

Questions to Consider:

  1. Did you recognize your own assumptions when listening to the stigma myths?

  2. Have you experienced weight stigma?

  3. Can you start paying closer attention to language and attitudes around weight?

  4. How can you create a safer space for people who are inundated with weight stigma on a daily basis?

  5. What would happen if you considered someone’s size was not their fault?  

 

Resources:

  • Bacon L, Aphramor L. Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books; 2014.
  • Klein S, Fontana L, Young V. Absence of an effect of liposuction on insulin action and risk factors for coronary heart disease. ACC Current Journal Review. 2004;13(8). doi:10.1016/j.accreview.2004.07.105.
  • NCHHSTP Social Determinants of Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/socialdeterminants/faq.html. Published March 21, 2014.
  • Strohacker K, CARPENTER K.C., MCFARLIN B.K. Consequences of Weight Cycling: An Increase in Disease Risk? International Journal of Exercise Science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241770/. Published July 15, 2009.
  • Olson MB, Kelsey SF, Bittner V, Reis SE, Reichek N, Handberg EM, Merz CN (2000). Weight cycling and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women: evidence of an adverse effect. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 36: 1565–1571.    
  • Who's fat? New definition adopted. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9806/17/weight.guidelines/. Published June 17, 1998. 
  • T. A. Wadden, Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 May; 14(5): 737–752. (Look AHEAD)

Thank you for joining us for Do No Harm Podcast. If you appreciated this week’s episode, visit iTunes or Google Play Music, subscribe to the show, and leave a review to help us spread this very important message!

S1E2: Should There be a War on Obesity?

*Disclaimer: We will be using the terms “overweight” and “obese” for this episode, because they are the medical terms currently being used. Therefore they have specific definitions. We find them offensive when used to describe people and will normally use the terms larger/smaller bodied, or fat/thin throughout the podcast.

UPDATE (2/28/23): I have been going through these old episodes finally getting around to do ing transcripts and noted that at the time this episode was recorded, Lindo Bacon was still using Linda and she/her pronouns. This has changed since then and they are now using they/them pronouns, which is reflected in the transcript, but not the audio. I may be rebroadcasting some of these old episodes, but I also may need to re-record to make corrections such as this.

-DeAun

 

The “War on Obesity” has been raging for decades. Just like many similar wars, such as drugs and terrorism, it has a very nebulous enemy and never really has an end. These types of “wars” rarely accomplish their stated objective. This war is attacking ordinary, law-abiding citizens who happen to be traveling around in bodies that are larger than whatever society has deemed “appropriate”. From babies to the elderly, no one who is fat is truly safe from this war, nor are those who fear becoming fat.

In This Week’s Episode:

  • The history of the Body Mass Index

  • Questions about the process that lowered BMI standards by the NIH in 1998

  • There are many determinants of health and weight is a small component.

  • Risks of pursuing weight loss to increase health

  • Dangers of assuming thin people are healthy

  • Dangers of assuming larger people are unhealthy

  • Inability to eradicate fatness from a population

  • Compassionate care providers not recognizing the damage caused by fighting “obesity”

““How would we ever get on board with prescribing for fat people what we diagnose as eating disordered in thing people?”
— Deb Burgard, Food Psych Podcast, Episode #117