Media and Research Roundup - November 2023
Image description: A photo of a pair of brown eyeglasses and a white and black writing pen sitting on top of an open notebook with handwritten notes in front of an open silver laptop.
By Bill and Terri Weitze
CONTENT WARNING: Some articles featured in the Media & Research Roundup may refer to stigmatizing events or use stigmatizing language.
October 9, 2023: A New York Times opinion piece discusses how semaglutide drugs (which risk fat people’s lives and quality of life under the guise of “improved health,”) do nothing at best and, at worst, worsen the problem of living in a society that often considers fatness as a moral issue.
October 13, 2023: The New Yorker provides a humorous list helps illustrate the ridiculousness of diet culture.
October 26, 2023: Following in the footsteps of Colorado, New York has passed a new law banning the sale of any over-the-counter pills or supplements advertised for weight loss to anyone under the age of 18 years. Prescription weight loss drugs and treatments are not affected by the law.
October 27, 2023: An in-depth article talks about how discrimination and lack of access to health care affect the lives of fat people, urging that fat people need more acceptance and less judgement.
October 31, 2023: As Novo Nordisk and other weight loss drug manufacturers push for their holy grail of insurance coverage of their drugs, using wild claims about their supposed cost-savings potential, the insurance industry is pushing back using real-world numbers showing that, in addition to unproven long-term efficacy, these drugs are not cost-effective. Columnist Leana S. Wen explains how the insurance companies have come to their conclusion.
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.