TWV Podcast Episode 471: The Harm of Weight Discrimination and Stigma - Part 1

This week on the Whole View, Stacy and I dive into a contentious topic of weight discrimination and diet culture. It is no secret that both Stacy and I have our history with the scale, and this two-part podcast gives us a chance to revisit our own past stigma, and what has helped to break us free from the chains of public perception.

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

Recommended Reading and Listening
Citations

I dig into the latest science of obesity and health markers, which prove that not only can you be healthy at any size, but that your weight and BMI (which is a whole other can of worms…) do not have a direct cause and effect relationship with your health. In fact, the science now shows that fitness and activity levels provide an incredibly protective effect against an increase in risk of cardiovascular disease and other health issues, regardless of body size. We also dissect Stacy’s amazing analogy of her journey to a different perspective of food and diet culture (I promise, it will make a splash!).

And next week we will continue this discussion around how harmful weight stigma actually is, and the mechanisms by which it propagates further dysfunction in our minds, bodies and in society as a whole. We will also be sharing more about our personal health experiences, where we are on our journeys towards challenging diet culture, and provide some mental tools that have helped us along the way!

If you enjoy the show, please review it on iTunes!

Citations

Wildman RP, Muntner P, Reynolds K, et al. The Obese Without Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Clustering and the Normal Weight With Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Clustering: Prevalence and Correlates of 2 Phenotypes Among the US Population (NHANES 1999-2004). Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(15):1617–1624. doi:10.1001/archinte.168.15.1617

Wei M, Kampert JB, Barlow CE, et al. Relationship Between Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality in Normal-Weight, Overweight, and Obese Men. JAMA. 1999;282(16):1547–1553. doi:10.1001/jama.282.16.1547

Lee CD, Blair SN, Jackson AS. Cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Mar;69(3):373-80. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/69.3.373. PMID: 10075319.

Farrell SW, Braun L, Barlow CE, Cheng YJ, Blair SN. The relation of body mass index, cardiorespiratory fitness, and all-cause mortality in women. Obes Res. 2002 Jun;10(6):417-23. doi: 10.1038/oby.2002.58. PMID: 12055316.

Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH. Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. JAMA. 2005 Apr 20;293(15):1861-7. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.15.1861. PMID: 15840860.

Save 70% Off the AIP Lecture Series!

Learn everything you need to know about the Autoimmune Protocol to regain your health!

I am loving this AIP course and all the information I am receiving. The amount of work you have put into this is amazing and greatly, GREATLY, appreciated. Thank you so much. Taking this course gives me the knowledge I need to understand why my body is doing what it is doing and reinforces my determination to continue along this dietary path to heal it. Invaluable!

Carmen Maier

Save 70%

Flegal KM, Kit BK, Orpana H, Graubard BI. Association of All-Cause Mortality With Overweight and Obesity Using Standard Body Mass Index Categories: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2013;309(1):71–82. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.113905

Anderson JW, Konz EC, Frederich RC, Wood CL. Long-term weight-loss maintenance: a meta-analysis of US studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Nov;74(5):579-84. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/74.5.579. PMID: 11684524.

Williamson DF, Pamuk E, Thun M, Flanders D, Byers T, Heath C. Prospective study of intentional weight loss and mortality in never-smoking overweight US white women aged 40-64 years. Am J Epidemiol. 1995 Jun 15;141(12):1128-41. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117386. Erratum in: Am J Epidemiol 1995 Aug 1;142(3):369. PMID: 7771451.

Williamson DF, Pamuk E, Thun M, Flanders D, Byers T, Heath C. Prospective study of intentional weight loss and mortality in overweight white men aged 40-64 years. Am J Epidemiol. 1999 Mar 15;149(6):491-503. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009843. PMID: 10084238.