Do No Harm Podcast

Because weight stigma is expressed through weight bias, it is necessary to discuss and examine our own weight bias as medical professionals and medical professionals in training. There is a growing body of research showing that weight stigma has a *significant* effect on long term health, making it an important subject for medical professionals to address personally and collectively. So we will spend today’s episode diving into weight bias and what we can do about it.

Weight Stigma, and stigma in general, is a 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. Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor described 7 myths about weight stigma in Body Respect. We will be using the myths as an

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