Weight and Healthcare

I’ve written here many times about the ways that the weight loss industry has been attempting to co-opt the work of weight stigma/weight-neutral/weight inclusive experts and activists. More than 40 o…

One of the most vulnerable times for higher-weight patients in healthcare can be when they are in a healthcare facility. Recently I worked with an incredible woman with a complex health history who w…

During the Q&A a physician raised her hand and asked me a question that I’ve been asked many times over the years. “I don’t disagree with the information you presented about the failure rate of behav…

The study “The Physiological Effects of Weight-Cycling: A Review of Current Evidence” published January 3, 2025 is making broad claims that “healthy individuals who struggle with overw*ight or ob*sit…

We are back discussing the article “The Physiological Effects of Weight-Cycling: A Review of Current Evidence” published January 3, 2025. In part 1 we looked at the authors and the introduction, in p…

As more data has come out about the realities of GLP-1s for weight loss (including some people regaining weight while still taking the drug, and research showing that those who go off the drugs regai…

In part 1, the amazing Leslie Jordan Garcia and I wrote about creating size-inclusive fitness spaces. Today, Leslie has created an audit that you can use to determine the size inclusivity of your fit…

Today I am thrilled to bring you the first of a two-part series about creating safe fitness spaces that I had the honor of co-writing with Leslie Jordan Garcia. You may remember Leslie from her 5 Que…

In part 1 of this series, Dr. Zed Zha shared a patient story of the harm that can happen when assumptions are made about the relationships between weight and inflammation. In parts 2 and 3, Dr. Zha e…

In part 1 Dr. Zed Zha discussed a patient experience that elucidated the issues that happen when assumptions are made about the relationships between weight and health. In part 2 she began a discussi…

In November I responded to readers’ questions about a paper that was being teased to the media suggesting a new definition for “ob*sity.” The paper is now out, and it’s even worse than I thought. I’v…

In Part 1, Dr. Zed Zha (M.D. and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians) discussed a patient experience that illuminated the need to look beyond simple assumptions about weight and infla…

In discussions around weight and health, the concept of “inflammation” almost always arises. This is a complex discussion and so I am thrilled and honored to share a four-part series in which Zed Zha…

On Saturday I posted a piece helping patients navigate weight stigma in healthcare, today I want to offer some support to healthcare providers to avoid creating weight stigma.

Higher-weight people too often find themselves in healthcare situations where they are being treated poorly/unequally because of weight stigma. These situations are, sadly, too numerous to count and …

This came up in our monthly subscriber Ask Me Anything. When I break down research I often talk about using absolute risk reduction and statistical significance to determine the efficacy of an interv…

You can’t win if you don’t play.

That’s what the PowerBall ad said. I could pay $2 for a ticket and possibly win a $20 million jackpot. Of course, I have a 99.9999997 percent chance of losing which ma…

I got the following question from reader Naomi

“Thanks for the information on the CDC growth charts. I wonder if you could talk about how to understand them. My pediatrician said that my child is more…

Today we’re going to talk about a new study called whose goal was to assess the “relationship of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and Body Mass Index (BMI) on both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all…

There are many ways that weight stigma occurs in healthcare. One that is harmful on multiple levels happens when higher-weight people are blamed for the ways in which healthcare fails them. This occu…