Healthcare

You have the right to healthcare without being shamed regardless of your body shape, size or weight.

Have you ever had the experience of going to your doctor with a health concern and then instead of addressing the health concern that you’re there to address, the health care professional confronts you about your weight? If this has happened to you, you are not alone. You may have believed that this was acceptable, that you were to blame, that you needed the prodding to lose weight. Wrongola. Not true. It’s what you have been led to believe via diet culture and the weight bias that is built into our health care. ASDAH (Association for Size Diversity and Health) explains this well, “health exists on a continuum that varies with time and circumstance for each individual. Health should be conceived as a resource or capacity available to all regardless of health condition or ability level, and not as an outcome or objective of living.” I invite you to read more about this on their website. https://asdah.org/health-at-every-size-haes-approach/ Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about weight neutral approach to various chronic diseases, check out these HAES Health Sheets https://haeshealthsheets.com/the-health-sheet-library/

How many of you have neglected going to the doctor because you didn’t want to be shamed about your weight? I’m sorry to say that I have heard this many times from my clients. It doesn’t have to be this way. You have the right to receive care wherever you are on the health continuum and regardless of your weight. You have the right to ask to not be weighed and to have health care goals that are not based around weight or weight loss. Take a look at these printable resources to take to your next appointment https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/

Research supports health goals that are not weight based to improve your health. This can be things like improving sleep, spending time in nature, taking steps to decrease your stress. This type of care is based on the principle of Health at Every Size (or HAES) https://asdah.org/health-at-every-size-haes-approach/ 

To everyone out there who has lived this, I am so sorry that you’ve had to experience this. Your worth is not dependent on your weight. I will continue to advocate for you – to connect you with HAES aligned providers and to push back, educate and work to reform the healthcare system to a weight neutral system.

If you have questions or want to talk more about this, please reach out! Send me an email, contact me via my website. You are worth it. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many awesome clients. Hoping that this brings you support and/or something to think about in a way that might be new for you. Here are some additional resources:

Books:

‘Anti-Diet’ by Christy Harrison

‘The Obesity Paradox’ by Carl Lavie and Kristin Loberg

‘Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia’ by Sabrina Strings

‘Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight’ by Lindo Bacon 

Podcasts:

The Eatfluencer Podcast

The Midlife Feast

What the Actual Fork

Food Psych 

Maintenance Phase

 

XOXO,

Coach Beth