"But in health care settings, antifat bias can be even more hazardous. Fat people are often misdiagnosed, or their actual condition untreated, when medical providers assume weight is the cause of their health problems. A 2001 study in the International Journal of Obesity indicated that fat patients were more likely to get shorter visits with doctors, and that antifat stigma at the doctor's office has kept many plus-size patients from returning to health care settings for years,"
"In the United States and much of the world, thinness has become synonymous with health. School nutrition programs aspire to end the "childhood obesity crisis," workplace HR departments organize office-wide weight-loss challenges with prizes for the people who dropped the most pounds. These health programs and policies are rooted in the assumption that fatness is inherently dangerous. But data tells a more complicated story."
Debbie Kaufman experienced repeated unsuccessful weight-loss attempts and founded the Body Liberation & Public Health Project to educate public health professionals about weight stigma. Antifatness, defined as bias and discrimination against people in larger bodies, contributes to increased suicidal ideation and depression in teens and discourages children's participation in physical activity. In clinical settings fat patients often receive shorter visits, face misdiagnosis, and avoid returning for years, raising risk of serious complications. Weight stigma produces chronic mental and physical harm via chronic stress. Many health programs and policies rest on assumptions that oversimplify data.
Read at Portland Monthly
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