(Un)weighted Assumptions: Anti-Fatness & Health
Presenter Biography
Mady (she/her), Nell (they/them) and Kieran (they/them) are MPH and PhD students interested in social and structural forces influencing the health of underrepresented and underresourced populations.
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Epidemiology & Health Promotion
Degree
MPH & PhD
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-4-2023 4:25 PM
End Date
4-4-2023 4:35 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40232
Keywords
stigma, weight, body size, health, fundamental cause of disease, anti-fat, health equity framework
Abstract
This lecture/discussion session aims to expand and add nuance to public health students’, professors’, and practitioners’ understanding of the interplay between body size and health. We will begin by naming and challenging common assumptions about the relationship between bodyweight and health outcomes. We will then argue for the consideration of weight-related stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Disease as defined by Phelan and Link, and for institutionally embedded anti-fat bias at the policy level (e.g., insurance policy, medical equipment) as a cause of population health inequity as defined in Whitehead’s Health Equity Framework. We offer these frameworks in contrast to, and in complement of, current literature which almost exclusively considers the impacts of anti-fat bias through interpersonal interactions and individual impacts. We will conclude the presentation by highlighting areas for future research on this topic in alignment with the School of Public Health’s commitment to health equity. We will offer carefully selected examples and thoughtful discussion prompts throughout the presentation, and hold time at the end for questions and conversation. This project is an expansion of a course project for PHE 522: Health & Social Inequalities
(Un)weighted Assumptions: Anti-Fatness & Health
This lecture/discussion session aims to expand and add nuance to public health students’, professors’, and practitioners’ understanding of the interplay between body size and health. We will begin by naming and challenging common assumptions about the relationship between bodyweight and health outcomes. We will then argue for the consideration of weight-related stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Disease as defined by Phelan and Link, and for institutionally embedded anti-fat bias at the policy level (e.g., insurance policy, medical equipment) as a cause of population health inequity as defined in Whitehead’s Health Equity Framework. We offer these frameworks in contrast to, and in complement of, current literature which almost exclusively considers the impacts of anti-fat bias through interpersonal interactions and individual impacts. We will conclude the presentation by highlighting areas for future research on this topic in alignment with the School of Public Health’s commitment to health equity. We will offer carefully selected examples and thoughtful discussion prompts throughout the presentation, and hold time at the end for questions and conversation. This project is an expansion of a course project for PHE 522: Health & Social Inequalities