How fatphobia is bringing healthcare industry to a standstill

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Weight-inclusive health care means a focus on better health with no weight loss required.
This includes practices such as eating for overall well-being rather than for the number of calories. It may also include prioritizing activities to reduce stress, avoiding smoking, drinking less alcohol and striving to be physically active in enjoyable ways.

A weight-inclusive approach to health seeks to undo the harms caused by weight stigma.
People with larger bodies often experience weight stigma as discrimination, prejudice, negative stereotypes and judgments from others — including their own doctors and other health care providers. More than 40% of U.S.

adults across a range of body sizes report experiencing weight stigma in their day-to-day lives.
Avoiding this stigma is likely a major driver behind the great lengths people in the U.S. go to in order to lose weight.

Market data shows that Americans spent some US$72.6 billion on weight loss products and programs in 2021. In addition, weight loss efforts start early, with nearly half of all high school students in the U.S. reporting that they have tried to lose weight.

I am a nutrition epidemiologist and registered dietitian studying the consequences of weight stigma and working to develop weight-inclusive nutrition interventions.
Initially my private practice and research approach were weight-centered. A weight-centered approach focuses on weight loss to achieve health and is widely accepted in health care settings across the world.

After over a decade of work in public health nutrition, I have witnessed how, in my view, the weight-centered approach harms individuals and communities. So I have shifted to using a weight-inclusive approach in practice and research.

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