Media and Research Roundup

Image is of a fat personts knees and legs with workout clothing on - Souce: Fat Liberation Photos

by Bill and Terri Weitze

Trigger Warning: Discussion of weight loss surgery complications and other medical bias.

July 26, 2020: Fat Irish comedian Sarah Millican lets us all know how little she cares about her weight or what others think of her lovely belly!
https://youtu.be/kS_ONRxWws4

August 7, 2020: A study finds that iron deficiency anemia for WLS (weight loss surgery) survivors is a delayed consequence of the surgery, requiring intravenous iron. Young age, history of anemia and low ferritin before surgery are risk factors.
https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2020001880

November 19, 2020: Yet another study confirms that being fat does not adversely impact the outcome of knee surgery (unicompartmental knee arthroplasty) for osteoarthritis; and therefore, obesity should not be considered a contraindicator for this surgery.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-00718-w

December 2020: A new health complication faced by survivors of WLS is beriberi, caused by thiamine deficiency. This can arise years after surgery even in individuals who appear well-nourished. The second link is This Fat Old Lady's blog post about the study.
https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaa004
https://thisfatoldlady.com/2021/04/03/this-fat-old-ladys-fat-friday-wls-survivors-subject-to-a-blast-from-the-past-literally

February 6, 2021: A study to evaluate the effects of a HAES (Health at Every Size) based activity focusing on body positivity and reduction of internalized weight stigma shows a positive and lasting effect for the participants.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.02.006

March 12, 2021: A meta-analysis study finds that adverse consequences of increased fasting insulin levels currently attributed to obesity may be caused by other proximate factors such as hyperinsulinemia.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1263

March 18, 2021: To combat the pathologizing of fatness by healthcare professionals and thereby reduce weight stigma in healthcare, researchers brought together medical students and fat activists for workshops, benefitting all participants.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12717

March 25, 2021: Elizabeth Gulino discusses how the body positivity movement was coopted, first by non-fat people and then by capitalism. She proposes that a body neutral movement may be more helpful for people in bodies that fall outside the scope of what society deems acceptable.
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/03/10370504/body-positivity-neutrality-movement-history

March 26, 2021: The Daily Beast talks with all kinds of people about lockdown weight gain, with most advising don't worry about it. You'll lose it or not -- so what -- just get out there and enjoy some exercise you like.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/our-bodies-emerge-from-lockdown-to-a-fat-shaming-chorus-ignore-it

April 2021: NAAFA's FLARE (Fat Legal Advocacy, Rights & Education) Project provides a COVID-19 Vaccine Access Fat Fact Sheet for fat folks in California.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kgspce4OE4qZ9n6EQeH-ucIna8GYBfjenkmE4DKc62s/edit

April 5, 2021: Actor, writer, and director Lena Dunham is venturing into the world of plus-size clothing design collaborating with 11 Honore. The interview gives insight into Dunham own fat issues. The clothing line only goes up to size 24.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/style/lena-dunham-body-positivity-11-honore-spanx.html

April 5-14, 2021: Two opinion pieces take the body positivity movement to task for not being accepting of all bodies, especially marginalized ones.
https://simmonsvoice.com/11904/opinion/how-positive-is-body-positivity
https://scotscoop.com/opinion-the-body-positivity-movement-is-excluding-bigger-women

April 15, 2021: Good Housekeeping talks about thin privilege, what it is, why it is harmful to everyone, and offers suggestions on how to dismantle it.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a35047908/what-is-thin-privilege

April 15, 2021: Many are looking to Lizzo as she speaks out against the body positive movement being coopted.
https://www.comicsands.com/lizzo-body-positive-movement-co-opted-2652594643.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.