Media and Research Roundup - August 2022
Graphic shows the feet and legs of a Black child on a scale, illustrations of three airline seats, and a photo of a healthcare professional taking a fat man's blood pressure.
By Bill and Terri Weitze
CW: Some articles reference dieting, weight loss, disordered eating, weight stigma, WLS, weight loss drugs, fat shaming, weight-bias in healthcare.
For the latest information and research on fatness, check out the Media & Research Roundup. This issue features: disordered eating in children, socio-economic impact on weight and health, open comment period on FAA seat safety, and weight-bias in healthcare.
July 18, 2022: Researchers find that more children are attempting weight loss, including children considered to be at a "healthy" weight, in England. Despite this trend, it is believed that it can be fixed by properly targeting the government's weight-loss message.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/18/alarming-rise-in-children-trying-to-lose-weight-in-england-say-experts
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-323493
July 26, 2022: USA Today starts a series discussing how science has shown that fat people are not to blame for failure to lose weight. Unfortunately, article centers on a woman who successfully lost weight through surgery and drugs: something science has shown is not doable by most fat people. The second link is to another USA article that requires a paid subscription to view.
https://news.yahoo.com/obesity-long-considered-personal-failing-090204825.html
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/health/2022/07/26/fat-shaming-wont-fix-obesity/9906603002
July 29, 2022: Part 4 of USA Today's 6-part series discusses socio-economic impact on weight and health. While the middle of the article has a list of some good advice on dealing with fat shame, there's a lot of focus on "healthy" eating and "healthy" lifestyle.
https://news.yahoo.com/americans-dont-choose-fat-many-090207344.html
July 29, 2022: After failing to establish minimum seat dimensions, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requesting input from the public on dimensions and pitch of seating on commercial aircraft. The second link connects you to the FAA site for this survey; the third link is to the FAA's Notice. All responses must be received no later than November 1, 2022.
https://simpleflying.com/faa-minimum-seat-size-request-for-comment
https://www.faa.gov/seat-size-comments
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2022-1001-0001
July 30, 2022: When U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz publicly fat shamed 19-year-old LGBTQ activist Olivia Julianna, he gave Olivia a platform to speak for the rights of women, fat people, and LGBTQ folx, while allowing her to raise over $1 million for abortion access in 72 hours. Words matter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/30/body-shame-win-teenager-gaetz/
August 10, 2022: A recent study looks at weight-bias among healthcare practitioners (HCP) and concludes that HCP need better education and a less weight-centric approach to healthcare. Research on weight, health and mortality needs to include the confounding and/or mediating effects of weight-stigma.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/10/obese-patients-weight-shamed-doctors-nurses
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13494
August 12, 2022: Enjoy illustrator and children's book author Phoebe Wahl's lovely illustrations and story about the joys of swimming while fat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/opinion/swimming-weight.html
Pic is of Terri and Bill Weitze, a Caucasian couple, both wearing glasses
Terri and Bill Weitze have been active within NAAFA for years, and they currently coauthor the Media and Research Roundup in the NAAFA Newsletter. They both live and work in Michigan, and met through a fat-positive bulletin board system before the days of the World Wide Web.