January Media and Research Roundup

Graphic shows the word “INEFFECTIVE” over a workplace wellness program logo with a green apple and heart.

by Bill and Terri Weitze

May 26, 2020: A two-year study on the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs finds no significant effect on biometrics, medical diagnoses or medical use after 12 months or 24 months.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1321

August 26, 2020: Researchers find that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgery both result in significant long-term bone loss.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-00660-x

September 29, 2020: A study looking at the risk obesity plays in Alzheimer's disease finds that higher BMI correlates with decreased cerebral blood flow for all ages (young adults to late life). However, the study did not connect decreased blood flow with Alzheimer's.
https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200655

November 2, 2020: Equality Matters calls out companies who now (grudgingly) offer limited plus size choices because they are only interested in dollars and not truly interested in supporting and serving the fat fashion community.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200211-selling-plus-size-clothing-isnt-only-about-pleasing-shoppers

December 30, 2020: Every Monday of 2020 Leslie Living Large was able to post a video of a visibly fat musician to the Facebook portion of her blog; and she has gathered all of those video links under the link provided below.
https://learning-curvy.com/2020/12/30/another-50-visibly-fat-musicians-musical-monday-posts-from-2020

December 31, 2020: Ragen Chastain explains how all bodies may be subject to negative feelings due to a fatphobic society, but only fat people are also dealing with oppression based on body size.
https://themighty.com/2020/12/body-positivity-fat-liberation-insecurities

December 31, 2020: Here's a New Year's tradition we can all enjoy. Ragen Chastain presents "Twas the Night Before New Years", calling for a diet-free new year for one and all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Av_NValrw

January 2021: The new issue of Fat Studies is now available, focusing on fat people as depicted on television and other forms of media.
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ufts20/10/1?nav=tocList

January 11, 2021: Chrystal Bougon shares her horrifying experience at the hands of healthcare professionals and offers some advice on how to take care of yourself in a healthcare setting.
https://medium.com/ample-room/tips-for-advocating-for-your-fat-self-at-the-doctors-office-c55a1b9874ec

January 15, 2021: Speaking with Dr. Katja Rowell, a family physician and childhood feeding specialist, the New York Times reports that during a pandemic is not the time for parents to start stressing themselves, or their children, about weight gain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/parenting/childrens-weight-gain-covid-pandemic.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 San Jose, CA, and met through a fat-positive bulletin board system before the days of the World Wide Web.