Weight and Healthcare

A lot of the questions I’m getting during Q&As right now (from healthcare providers AND from patients) are about possible uses for GLP-1s - from blood pressure to alcohol and substance use disorders to Binge Eating Disorder to lymphedema and lipedema and more- “Do GLP-1s really help with…” is becoming a very common question, and I think that’s by design. There are reasons for this - many of those...

In Part 1 we started looking at a commentary piece in Medscape by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff called “The Bell Tolls for the Diet Era.” In part 1 we looked at his big feelings about medical professionals who dare question the use of GLP-1s for weight loss. Today we’ll look at his big feelings around weight-inclusive work and fat acceptance. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.su...

If the name Yoni Freedhoff sounds familiar, it may be from the Natasha Wiebe’s guest post about her experience going to an “ob*sity” summit. She recounted:“Yoni Freedhoff is a physician from Ottawa and I had seen him featured in at least one documentary on ob*sity and on other media platforms. I had low expectations, and he exceeded those. At the beginning of his talk, he shared the question that...

In part 1 I started writing about the basics of hernias in higher-weight people, including the fact that these surgeries are common targets for BMI-based denials of care, where a higher-weight patient’s healthcare is held hostage for a weight loss random. In part 2 we dicussed the issues with the weight loss recommendations that are so commonly given to higher-weight patients when their care is he...

This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter ! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! In Part 1 we discussed the basics of hernia repair for higher-weight people. In part 3 we’ll discuss the options for fighting BMI-based denials for hernia care. While I take the stance that people of all sizes deserve equitable care, in Part 2, I want to talk about the issue...

One of the more complex situations that I often get asked to write about, or asked to help advocate for, is hernia repair in higher-weight people. This situation can be quite complicated and a lot depends on the person, their specific condition, and their situation. The goal of this three-part series is to offer a starting point for discussion and advocacy. In part 1 we’ll look at some of the basi...

I write about many different examples of weight stigma in healthcare including BMI-based denials of care in which healthcare is held hostage for a weight loss ransom. Sometimes these BMI-based denials don’t mean that a procedure is denied everywhere, but that it is denied in a certain facility. One common example of this is when a procedure is requierd to be done in a hospital rather than an ambul...

I’ve written extensively about the weight loss industry’s attempt to co-opt the concept of weight bias and stigma Lately I’ve been noticing (and in some cases involved in,) a concerning trend which I would describe as people (knowingly and even unknowingly) weaponizing the concept of weight bias to shut down weight-inclusive work to benefit the weight-centric paradigm. (I’ve written about the two...

In part one we went through some of the basics around the research that considers higher-weight and cancer risk, progression, and outcomes. In part 2, we’ll consider some of the research more deeply. These won’t be full deep-dive analyses (if you want that, let me know in the comments,) instead we’ll dig into the questions we discussed in part 1. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weighta...

I have had a number of requests to discuss the research around cancer and higher-weight. This is an incredibly complex and nuanced subject. I’m going to start with a two-part series. Part 1 will be an overview of basic concepts and possible issues with the current research. Part 2 will dig into some of the actual research. If you have other topics that you would like me to write about or specific...

Reader Barbara recently brought the study “Association of Weight Cycling with MRI-Based Thigh Muscle Quality and Knee-Adjacent Ob*sity” to my attention. The study sought to determine if repeated weight gain and loss (also known as weight cycling or yo-yo dieting) was associated with sarcopenia which they explain is defined as a loss of muscle strength and muscle mass and a decline in physical perf...

I received a request from reader Chris who said: I know that you write about the problems with research all the time, but I would really like a post that names the main problems with the research that would be easy to send someone so that they could understand. I’m happy to help. For this post I’ve chosen the top three mistakes I see. Of course, there are plenty more, I’ve chosen these three (and...

I have written before about options for patients who are facing a BMI-based denial of care which occurs when their healthcare is being held hostage for a weight loss ransom. In that series I talk about three options to try to get surgery. A couple months ago I gave a talk on weight-neutral joint pain management with Dr. Julia Bruene and Dr. Jeremy Alland, both Sports Medicine Physicians at Midwest...

I have received a ton of requests to write about the paper “Are people with metabolically healthy ob*sity really healthy? A prospective cohort study of 381,363 UK Biobank participants” Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

Recently a number of people directed me to a video online that discussed weight stigma and asked me to respond. I’m not naming names because this person is far from the only one to make this mistake, they apologized, and they didn’t choose the clip that was selected. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter ! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! In part 1 we looked at the basics of the Look AHEAD Trial of weight loss to improve cardiovascular outcomes. The trial was cancelled 9.6 years into its intended 13.5 year follow up for “futility” when analysis found no statistically significant difference in cardiovascular o...

People make a lot of claims that the Look AHEAD trial offers some sort of support for the efficacy of weight loss diets. So in this two-part series we’re going to look back at the Look AHEAD trial - what is was, what it found, and what it didn’t. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve received a ton of reader questions about Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 weight loss pill Foundayo, which was recently granted FDA approval. In Part 1 we’ll talk about the study itself, in Part 2 we’ll break down the discussion, limitations and talk about the special treatment the government gave this drug. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

I recently heard from Samantha C who was suffering from what she described as “absolutely crippling plantar fasciitis.” She shared her story of battling medical weight stigma to get care. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 1 we started discussing the study Two Years After Stopping GLP-1s, Most Patients Sustain at Least Some Weight Loss by Bartelt et al. which I identified as possibly the worst, and definitely among the top 3 worst, studies I’ve ever analyzed. In part 1 we talked about the platform (Epic Research), the researchers, and the basic methodology for reporting. Today we’re going to get into the ana...

Every month, paid subscribers can participate in an Ask Me Anything and the study I’m writing about today was brought to my attention during the June AMA. It is, if not the worst, one of the top 3 worst studies I have ever analyzed so strap in because we are going for an EPIC ride. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

Some of you may know that I’m a Board Certified Patient Advocate. I don’t currently do a lot of individual advocacy because my speaking schedule doesn’t allow for the necessary time availability so I typically either work on complex or emergency cases, or on cases that are not strictly timebound - most of these are people who are dealing with a BMI-based denial of care, meaning that their healthca...

In part 1 we began discussing the study ““Please step on the scale”: The experience of being weighed promotes sustained systolic blood pressure level” by Incollingo Rodriguez, Nunes, & Kirschner, published in 2026 in the Stigma and Health Journal. The study sought to determine the impact of weighing in a medical appointments on blood pressure, cortisol, and perceived stress. In part 1 we looked at...

I recently spoke at the Association for Weight and Size Inclusive Medicine’s Spring Scientific Assembly. Speakers were grouped into blocks and this study was presented by the lead author, Angela C. Icollingo Rodriguez in the same block as me and I think it’s an important area of study. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve received a bunch of reader questions that can be summarized as what the hell is going on with GLP-1s and Medicare? Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe