Articles & Content
Unlearning and Learning
These short articles provide tips and resources for you to explore issues of weight stigma and how a body liberation approach aligns with public health values.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Here are some things to consider about weight-loss drugs from a body liberation + public health perspective. In any case, our work toward an equitable world for people in larger bodies continues.
Correlation ≠ Causation: A body liberation approach enables us to be truer to the values that underlie our work. In this series of articles, we examine ways we can improve our public health work by becoming more weight-inclusive.
For people in larger bodies, there are daily reminders that they do not fit here, that they do not belong. They must be constantly thinking about these things and planning how to navigate a world not built for them.
ALL CONTENT
Here are some things to consider about weight-loss drugs from a body liberation + public health perspective. In any case, our work toward an equitable world for people in larger bodies continues.
We want to highlight this amazing group of medical students as an example of how those of us working in health fields and education can take a stand and make a difference in reducing weight stigma and anti-fat bias in our work and in society.
By Liz Budd and Nichole Kelly - Community organizations and individuals began reaching out to us for help in adjusting their approaches to be less harmful and more helpful to their patients, clients, students, and community members. We created ReDefine Health Promotion, LLC to better serve these community needs and facilitate widespread impact.
By Erin Bransford - Weight stigma and diet culture are deeply entrenched in the fitness and recreation industries. What can a fitness and recreation professional do to push back against this harmful narrative and create a facility, programs, and services that are welcoming to all bodies?
Here is an example of advocacy on behalf of weight-inclusive policy, including students speaking up, faculty and staff supporting them, and administrators listening. Learn about a Fat Justice Journal Club and its advocacy project.
Creating workplaces that are inclusive of people of all sizes involves physical and visual aspects, as well as the topics of "water cooler banter." Explore ways that both organizations and individuals can make people of all sizes feel welcome at work.
What do we mean by "feeling comfortable in our body," and where do these “feelings” come from? An examination of what underlies these feelings is critical to uprooting our own implicit anti-fat bias and working toward body liberation for all.
By Katie Borofka - What if public health focused on compassion, pleasure, and a radical divestment from shame? Surely, there is space alongside disease prevention for feeling good in our bodies.
By Stasha Hornbeck - If I’m not prescribing “what to eat” anymore, what is a dietitian to do? One clinical dietitian and diabetes educator shares the ways she is shifting from a weight-normative to a weight-inclusive, trauma-informed approach in a large healthcare environment.
In order for the School of Public Health to really move forward in an equity lens, a fat justice lens needs to be incorporated. Too often, people in fat bodies feel uncomfortable navigating health and public health spaces, and the first step to breaking that cycle is to acknowledge and promote that we belong in them.”
— Stephanie Schulden, Fat Activist and MPH Student