The hottest Body positivity Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Culture Topics

Let's Talk About Noom

Weight and Healthcare • 619 implied HN points • 07 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Dieting Research Body positivity
  1. Noom's claims of being a brand new way to lose weight while also helping to keep weight off for good are inconsistent. Long-term efficacy cannot be proven with short-term results.
  2. Short-term weight loss statistics from Noom might not reflect sustained success, as most participants tend to regain weight within a few years, similar to other diet programs.
  3. Studies on Noom's effectiveness often involve low retention rates and short follow-up durations, which are not sufficient to support their marketing claims of long-term weight loss maintenance.

Asking for Accommodations as a Higher-Weight Person Part 1

Weight and Healthcare • 499 implied HN points • 28 Jan 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare access Advocacy Empowerment
  1. Places should be set up to accommodate everyone, but this isn't always the case. People may need to ask for accommodations due to factors like size, disability, or other marginalized identities.
  2. Asking for accommodations can bring up emotional challenges like stress and shame. It's important to know that asking for accommodations is not asking for special treatment, but rather for the same access others already have.
  3. There are approaches to requesting accommodations, such as determining when to ask, who to ask, how to ask, and what to do if the request is denied. It's crucial to remember that requesting accommodations is not about seeking special favors, but ensuring equal access.

How To Solve The So-Called "Obesity Epidemic" Today

Weight and Healthcare • 499 implied HN points • 21 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Body positivity Public Health Weight Loss Fatphobia
  1. Stop talking about the 'obesity epidemic' as it is a concept that harms fat people and promotes weight stigma.
  2. The idea of an 'obesity epidemic' is not supported by accurate definitions and encourages harmful behavior towards fat individuals.
  3. Public health efforts should focus on increasing access, reducing barriers, and providing shame-free healthcare rather than perpetuating the 'obesity epidemic' narrative.

Ghosts of Diet Culture Present

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 28 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Body positivity Health Impacts Diet Industry Weight Stigma
  1. Diet culture thrives on evil marketing seasons like the holidays, New Years Resolution season, and swimsuit season, making billions of dollars convincing people to try unproductive weight loss methods.
  2. Intentional weight loss often fails in the long term, leading to weight regain and potential negative health impacts like increased mortality, yet the diet industry continues to profit massively from repeat business.
  3. Weight stigma is a real issue, impacting individuals regardless of their body positivity, and many still believe in the myth that weight loss leads to better health despite evidence showing otherwise.
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Does this Study Really Say You Can't Be Fat and Fit?

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 17 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Fitness Medical Research Weight Stigma Body positivity
  1. The study did not conclusively show that you can't be fat and fit, despite initial media headlines suggesting so
  2. Exercise provided health benefits for people of all sizes, indicating that activity can be beneficial regardless of body size
  3. The study's recommendation for weight loss as a primary health policy target lacked strong evidence and overlooked the impacts of weight stigma and weight cycling

Ghosts of Diet Culture Yet to Come

Weight and Healthcare • 419 implied HN points • 31 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Diet Culture Weight Stigma Healthcare Industry Fat Activism Body positivity
  1. Push back against the diet industry's attempts to frame higher weight as a chronic health condition.
  2. Refuse to participate in and call out the co-option of anti-weight stigma language by the diet industry to sell products.
  3. Support creating a culture shift away from harmful diet culture practices and work towards stopping the weight loss industry.

Who Says Dieting Fails Most Of The Time?

Weight and Healthcare • 1198 implied HN points • 06 Nov 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Loss Research Health Outcomes Body positivity
  1. Various studies from different time periods show that intentional weight loss through dieting has a high failure rate, with most individuals regaining lost weight within a few years.
  2. Even when weight loss is achieved, it may not necessarily lead to improved health outcomes or reduced mortality risks, compared to focusing on behaviors like exercise and healthy eating.
  3. The research emphasizes the importance of moving away from the traditional focus on body size manipulation to a more evidence-based approach that supports people's health through behavior changes and access to resources.

What to do if you can’t accommodate a higher weight patient

Weight and Healthcare • 798 implied HN points • 20 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Inclusivity Patient Experience
  1. Perspective and attitude are crucial when handling situations where higher weight patients cannot be accommodated - blame should not be directed at the patient, but rather focus on addressing the lack of resources and tools for equitable care.
  2. Prevention is key - prioritize purchasing equipment that can accommodate patients of all sizes, communicate size/weight limits openly, and have protocols in place to handle situations where accommodation is not immediately possible.
  3. When accommodation isn't possible, have non-shaming protocols in place, take responsibility for the lack of accessibility, refer patients to other facilities that can accommodate them, and ensure a seamless and respectful experience for higher-weight patients.

Does This Study Really Show How To Maintain Weight Loss?

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 05 Nov 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Obesity Research Public Health Body positivity
  1. The study on maintaining weight loss analyzed a small sample of participants who were considered 'successes' by Weight Watchers, a fraction of their total enrollment.
  2. The study included participants who had lost weight and maintained it for just one year, even though research shows weight regain within five years is common.
  3. Many responses in the study highlighted motivations like escaping weight stigma and persevering through challenges, raising questions about the effectiveness of weight loss maintenance strategies.

Reader Question: How Do I Push Back Against Workplace Weight Loss Challenges?

Weight and Healthcare • 419 implied HN points • 08 Oct 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Body positivity Workplace Challenges Mental health Self-care
  1. Facing workplace weight loss challenges can be intimidating, especially for larger individuals who may feel triggered or stressed.
  2. Pushing back against such challenges can involve addressing concerns about health, defending against body size discrimination, and advocating for weight-neutral interventions.
  3. It's crucial to remember that workplace weight issues are not your fault, and there's value in advocating for a healthier focus on well-being rather than just weight.

Doesn't Being Higher Weight Create Higher Risk for Health Issues?

Weight and Healthcare • 559 implied HN points • 22 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Research Methods Body positivity Fat Activism
  1. Correlation between weight and health doesn't imply causation, and it's crucial to examine the quality of evidence before drawing conclusions.
  2. Factors like weight stigma, weight cycling, and healthcare inequalities can influence the relationship between weight and health.
  3. Supporting health doesn't always need manipulation of body size, and it's essential to prioritize the rights of individuals regardless of their size.

The Trouble with Promoting “Joyful” or “Enjoyable” Movement

Weight and Healthcare • 758 implied HN points • 05 Feb 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Fitness Body positivity Mental health Self-care Well-being
  1. Engaging in joyful or enjoyable movement is not a requirement for practicing weight-neutral health.
  2. Movement can provide health benefits to people of all sizes, regardless of whether it's joyful or enjoyable.
  3. It's important for individuals to approach their relationship with movement on their own terms, whether they seek joy in it or engage for health benefits.

Responding to Weight Loss Recommendations

Weight and Healthcare • 379 implied HN points • 26 Oct 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Healthcare Research Systemic change Body positivity
  1. When considering weight loss interventions, ask for five-year data to evaluate long-term effectiveness and potential side effects.
  2. Advocate for systemic change to focus on weight-neutral interventions to support health directly rather than simply aiming for weight loss.
  3. Challenge the current practices in weight loss research and intervention approval processes to prioritize transparency, honesty, and true informed consent.

Weight Loss Sales Pitches Are Not Informed Consent Conversations

Weight and Healthcare • 399 implied HN points • 07 Sep 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Informed consent Fat Activism Body positivity
  1. Healthcare practitioners should provide informed consent, including risks and failure rates, instead of aggressively marketing weight loss interventions.
  2. Red flags for healthcare providers selling weight loss include not mentioning alternative options, minimizing risks, and promoting commercial weight loss programs.
  3. Using neutral language like 'fat' instead of medicalized terms like 'obese' is important in discussions about weight and health.

The Vague Future Health Threat Mistake

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 03 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Weight Stigma Research
  1. The Vague Future Health Threat (VFHT) is a problematic argument used against weight-neutral health, combining healthism and fatphobia.
  2. Health issues should not be used to threaten, taunt or insult someone and attributing all health problems to body size is scientifically invalid.
  3. Intentional weight loss methods often lead to weight cycling, with potential negative impacts on health, and the VFHT is not a valid justification for fatphobia.

Reader Question - What's the Difference Between Fat Activists and the Diet Industry?

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 08 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Diet Industry Weight Stigma Fat Activism Healthcare
  1. The main difference between fat activists and the diet industry is their ultimate goals: Fat activists aim to end the weight-centric paradigm to affirm and accommodate fat individuals, while the diet industry seeks profit and perpetuates harmful practices.
  2. Fat activists focus on making information accessible without money as a barrier, prioritizing helping people over profit. In contrast, the diet industry prioritizes profit margins and is willing to take risks that harm fat individuals for financial gain.
  3. The approach to health by fat activists is grounded in thorough research, whereas the diet industry often pathologizes body size, creates misleading studies, and makes errors in correlation vs. causation analysis.

We Must Stop Using Weight As A Proxy For Health

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 12 Oct 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Health Misinformation Body positivity Health Advocacy
  1. Using weight as a proxy for health perpetuates stigma, especially against fat individuals and those with multiple marginalized identities.
  2. Weight is a poor indicator of health on an individual basis, as people of the same weight can have different health statuses.
  3. Using weight as a proxy for health can lead to subpar healthcare practices, promote stereotypes, and mislead individuals about their health needs.

Does It Matter That Dieting Can Lead to Weight Gain?

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 15 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Health Risks Body positivity Mental health
  1. Intentional weight loss through dieting often leads to weight regain, and in some cases, people end up gaining more weight than they initially lost.
  2. Diet culture and fatphobia can perpetuate harmful physical and mental health consequences associated with dieting, even if the intention is to promote weight loss.
  3. The argument against dieting can be framed by highlighting the health risks and ethical concerns of prescribing weight loss as a healthcare intervention, despite its ineffectiveness in achieving long-term health benefits.

Doctors Must Stop Telling Higher-Weight Patients to "Eat Less and Exercise More"

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 28 Sep 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Healthcare Eating Disorders Body positivity Exercise
  1. Healthcare practitioners should avoid stereotypes and practice medicine based on facts, not assumptions
  2. Eating disorders can affect people of all sizes, so generalized advice can be harmful
  3. Telling higher-weight patients to 'eat less and exercise more' is not evidence-based and may lead to negative outcomes

If You're Thinking About Offering Advice to a Fat Person About Their Health...

Weight and Healthcare • 399 implied HN points • 06 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Mental health Physical health Weight Stigma
  1. Before offering health advice to a fat person, make sure they asked for it.
  2. Only give advice if you are a true expert with accurate, evidence-based information.
  3. Consider if your concern for their health goes beyond just their body size and if you are actively working to improve social determinants of health.

Reader Question - What's the Difference Between Weight-Neutral Health and Weight-Inclusive Health

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 27 Aug 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Research Body positivity Healthcare Equality
  1. Weight-neutral health focuses on providing the same interventions to people of all sizes without using weight loss as a healthcare strategy.
  2. Weight-inclusive health aims to create interventions and practices that are developed for bodies of all sizes, including research, tools, equipment, and best practices.
  3. Inclusive care is essential not only for fat individuals but also for marginalized groups like people of color, trans and nonbinary individuals, cis women, and others.

Myths About the Failure Rate of Dieting

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 16 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Loss Research Body positivity
  1. Research shows that the majority of people regain weight after intentional weight loss, often gaining back more than they lost.
  2. The failure rate of intentional weight loss applies to all methods, not just 'fad' diets, with statistics dating back to the 1950s showing low success rates.
  3. The idea that weight loss fails because people don't do it correctly is a misconception; with around 95% of individuals regaining lost weight, the approach itself may be flawed.

Does losing 5-10% of body weight really improve health?

Weight and Healthcare • 559 implied HN points • 04 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Health Benefits Research Body positivity
  1. Weight loss of 5-10% to improve health is a myth based on questionable research methods and flawed assumptions.
  2. Initial weight loss from diets often regains over time, negating claimed health benefits.
  3. Health improvements often credited to weight loss may actually be due to behavior changes like exercise and nutrition, not weight change itself.

What's the Problem With BMI And How Do We Solve It?

Weight and Healthcare • 359 implied HN points • 11 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Weight Medical Industry
  1. BMI was created in the 1830s by Quetelet, with problematic intentions and math issues.
  2. BMI has been manipulated by the weight loss industry, leading to denial of healthcare for higher-weight individuals.
  3. BMI is unnecessary and can be dropped, promoting individualized care and focusing on supporting patient health rather than manipulating body size.

Weight Loss and Informed Consent

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 09 Mar 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Informed consent Ethics Medical treatment Body positivity
  1. In healthcare, it's crucial for patients to receive informed consent before undergoing treatments. This involves understanding the treatment, risks, benefits, and making voluntary decisions.
  2. Intentional weight loss recommendations often lack informed consent. Research shows weight loss fails most of the time, yet healthcare practitioners may not disclose this to patients.
  3. Patients, especially those with higher body weight, can face judgment and lack of informed consent in healthcare settings, impacting their autonomy and well-being.

Friday Conversation - The Perfect Doctor's Appointment

Weight and Healthcare • 479 implied HN points • 21 Jan 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Healthcare Body positivity
  1. The post discusses the challenges in healthcare appointments and what we wish practitioners would do differently.
  2. Being a paid subscriber adds the value of accessing exclusive content and the opportunity to request specific topics for the author to write about.
  3. The author expresses gratitude for the support of paid subscribers and welcomes suggestions and questions via the provided contact email.

How to Tell if You are Truly Concerned About Fat People’s Health

Weight and Healthcare • 219 implied HN points • 30 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Weight Stigma Fatphobia Mental health Social justice
  1. Truly caring for fat people's health goes beyond body size and includes addressing weight stigma and oppression.
  2. Using stigmatizing language like 'ob*se' or believing thinness can magically solve health issues perpetuates weight stigma.
  3. Recommendations for intentional weight loss may often lead to harm and supporting anti-fatness contradicts true concern for fat people's health.

Inclusive Language For Higher-Weight People

Weight and Healthcare • 379 implied HN points • 03 Nov 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Weight Stigma Fat Activism
  1. Obese and overweight are terms with harmful histories, rooted in racism, and should be retired.
  2. Person First Language may actually increase stigma for higher-weight people by implying shame in accurate descriptions of body size.
  3. Using neutral terms like 'higher-weight' and 'larger-bodied' is recommended to describe this population without pathologizing or euphemizing.

How to Explain Weight Stigma in Healthcare

Weight and Healthcare • 239 implied HN points • 23 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Healthcare Inequalities Body positivity
  1. Healthcare facilities often lack accommodations for fat people, like suitable furniture and equipment, due to weight stigma.
  2. Medical weight stigma leads to fat patients receiving subpar care compared to thin patients with the same symptoms, focusing on weight loss over appropriate treatment.
  3. Fat patients may be denied necessary surgeries and offered weight loss surgeries instead, putting their health at risk for temporary weight loss.

Why We Should End Routine Weigh-Ins

Weight and Healthcare • 239 implied HN points • 06 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Medical Practices Weight Stigma Healthcare Ethics Informed consent
  1. Routine weigh-ins at healthcare facilities can be harmful, especially for fat patients and those with eating disorders, leading to missed screenings and late diagnoses.
  2. The emphasis on weight by healthcare providers can overshadow addressing actual health concerns, and the practice may be fueled by profit motives in the weight loss industry.
  3. Healthcare providers should reconsider the necessity of routine weigh-ins, promote weight-neutral care, and provide options for patients to refuse weigh-ins.

Correlation vs Causation Errors are Killing Fat Patients

Weight and Healthcare • 299 implied HN points • 15 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Research Methods Weight Loss Stigma Body positivity
  1. Correlation does not equal causation. Just because two things happen together doesn't mean one causes the other.
  2. Research on weight and health often overlooks confounding variables like weight stigma, weight cycling, and healthcare inequality.
  3. Assuming higher weight causes health issues has led to harmful practices, like the weight loss industry profiting from perpetuating weight stigma and promoting ineffective solutions.

Fat People, Healthcare, and Tax Dollars

Weight and Healthcare • 299 implied HN points • 31 Oct 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Weight Stigma Fatphobia
  1. Addressing weight stigma often involves countering the argument that fat people's healthcare is funded by tax dollars.
  2. Claims about fat people's healthcare costs being higher are overstated, and health issues are driven by factors like weight stigma and healthcare inequalities.
  3. It's important to challenge the flawed assumptions behind the 'fat people and my tax dollars' argument, which only serve to reinforce harmful weight stigma.

What If My Patient Wants To Lose Weight?

Weight and Healthcare • 279 implied HN points • 01 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Healthcare Education Body positivity Self-Improvement
  1. Patients often desire weight loss because they've been influenced by healthcare practitioners and societal norms.
  2. Healthcare practitioners have a crucial role in shifting patient perspectives about weight loss and health.
  3. It's important for healthcare providers to address weight loss requests by educating on evidence-based alternatives and supporting patients in their health goals.

The 5-10% Weight Loss Lie - Part 2

Weight and Healthcare • 259 implied HN points • 08 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Body positivity Research Behavior Change Mental health
  1. Weight loss doesn't necessarily lead to greater health. Behavior changes and health improvements may happen simultaneously.
  2. Fitness and mobility improvements are often wrongly attributed to weight loss. Programs and effort play a significant role.
  3. Confidence changes attributed to weight loss might be societal conditioning. Weight loss doesn't guarantee long-term success and can lead to giving up on other goals.

Help - My Colleague Thinks Weight Loss is a Magical Fix-All!

Weight and Healthcare • 239 implied HN points • 15 Jan 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Healthcare Body positivity Mental health
  1. Assuming weight loss is a cure-all is a common yet harmful mistake perpetuated by the weight loss industry.
  2. Healthcare providers can do harm by focusing solely on weight loss as a solution without evidence-based interventions that suit the individual's needs.
  3. Thin people can also face similar health issues, so weight loss is not a guaranteed fix and all individuals deserve ethical treatment regardless of size.

Is Being Fat Really a Chronic, Lifelong Health Condition?

Weight and Healthcare • 279 implied HN points • 27 Oct 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity Health Conditions Weight loss industry Body positivity Health care
  1. The American Medical Association declared obesity a disease despite recommendations against it, leading to issues with pathologizing body size.
  2. There is a push by weight loss companies to label being fat as a 'chronic, lifelong health condition' to expand their market and profit, which may not be scientifically sound.
  3. Blaming health conditions on fat bodies instead of addressing weight stigma and inequalities can lead to harmful interventions for fat individuals.

Audit for Creating A Size-Inclusive Healthcare Office

Weight and Healthcare • 239 implied HN points • 18 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Accessibility Equality
  1. Perform an audit to ensure a healthcare office is size-inclusive, considering the needs of individuals of all sizes and abilities.
  2. Regularly self-audit for any instances of potential weight-based discrimination and address them proactively.
  3. Provide accommodations like wide chairs, suitable medical equipment, and positive representations to support the health of diverse individuals.