Weight and Healthcare

There are many aspects of weight stigma within the healthcare system that harm higher-weight people. There is an issue that isn't often discussed that underpins many of the harms that the healthcare system does to higher-weight people. Research. Or a lack thereof.  Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

In part 1 we discussed a New York Times article about so-called “Ob*sity First Medicine” (OFM) which suggests that higher weight people with health issues should be targeted for weight loss treatment (in this case specifically the new GLP-1 diet drugs) treating them differently than thinner people with the same symptoms/presentations/diagnoses. Today we’re going to look at an opinion piece in WaPo...

Many of you reached out to me about two articles. One in the New York Times by Gina Kolata about so-called “Ob*sity First Medicine” - OFM (you may remember Kolata from a different article I wrote about that essentially lobbied for insurance coverage for weight loss drugs and failed to disclose that each person interviewed was on the payroll of the drug companies.) Another an opinion piece in the W...

I received a reader question from Annilyn who said: “My doctor just suggested that I try the AspireAssist to lose weight. I didn’t want to Google it because I think it will be really triggering but based on what he described, I just don’t think this thing can be real, can it? Will you write about it?” I’m happy to write about this weight loss device Annilyn, and mostly I’m happy because it seems t...

In part one we looked at a lawsuit being brought by Jaclyn Bjorklund against Novo Nordisk (maker of Semaglutide - brand names Ozempic/Rybelsus/Wegovy) and Eli Lilly (maker of Tirzepatide - brand names Mounjaro/Zepbound) for the severe gastrointestinal side effects she experienced after taking Ozempic and then Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes. At the end I made the point that, for some people, the nega...

I received requests from a number of you to write about this situation. Jaclyn Bjorklund, a 44 year old woman from Louisiana is suing both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Content note: this piece will include details of severe gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

This is the final part of the series about the study “ Eating disorder risk during behavioral weight management in adults with overw*ight or ob*sity: A systematic review with meta-analysis” by Jebeile et al, 2023. In part 1 we talked about overarching issues with the science, in part 2 we talked about general issues with this specific study, and in part 3 we’ll discuss the specific claims made.  G...

In part 1 we discussed the overarching issues with “Eating disorder risk during behavioral weight management in adults with overw*ight or ob*sity: A systematic review with meta-analysis” by Jebeile et al, 2023. Today we’ll begin to dig into the specific issues with this study. Content note: in this piece I’ll be talking about eating disorders, including specific behaviors, and weight loss methods...

The study we’re looking at in this series is “Eating disorder risk during behavioral weight management in adults with overw*ight or ob*sity: A systematic review with meta-analysis” by Jebeile et al, 2023 In Part 1 we’ll look at overarching issues and in parts 2 and 3 we’ll dig into the specifics of the study. For this section I reached out to Deb Burgard, PhD and Fellow of the Academy of Eating Di...

This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter ! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! I recently wrote abou t an NBC News article that included a quote from Tom Hildebrandt, PsyD who runs the Hildebrandt Lab at Mount Sinai in New York, which houses Mount Sinai’s Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders. I promised that I would write a separate arti...

In part 1 we started exploring the concerning new CDC-Recognized Family Healthy Weight Programs and the issues with their requirement that “Family Healthy Weight Programs (FHWPs) are safe, effective treatments for childhood ob*sity.*” Today we’ll talk about the requirement that these programs be “Appropriate for childhood ob*sity” Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.sub...

I wrote earlier about the disastrous American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines, written predominantly by people who were either taking money from the weight loss industry or personally/through their employers selling weight loss to kids . I also did a deep dive on the serious issues with their recommendations of intensive behavioral interventions starting at 2 years old, diet drugs at 12, and weig...

I got this question from reader Mina: I was in a discussion about weight-neutral health and now I feel a bit confused. I practice what I always thought was weight-neutral health and I was chatting with a friend who does the same. She mentioned Intuitive Eating and I said that I knew a lot of people that worked great for, but that it didn’t work for me and before I could finish she said that in ord...

In part 1 we looked at the major issues with the ways that children are labeled “overw*ight” and “ob*se”. In part 2 we’ll look at more of the nuances. Again, Deb Burgard, PhD, FAED was incredibly helpful in putting together this piece. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

I got the following question from reader Lynn: “I know that they use BMI for kids and I know that it’s different than what they do for adults, but I don’t understand how. Maybe you could write a newsletter about it?” Indeed I can Lynn, thanks for the suggestion! This gets a bit complex, so it’s going to be a two-part series. In part 1 we’ll look at the basics. Get full access to Weight and Healthc...

As updated COVID vaccines and this year's flu vaccines roll out, I got a request from several readers to post about the need for longer needles for higher-weight people’s vaccinations. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

While progress toward weight-neutrality is absolutely being made, our healthcare is predominantly based in the weight-centric paradigm. This paradigm currently considers simply existing in a higher-weight body to be a disease and weight loss to be the cure. (Now, there is no shame in having a disease, it’s just that simply existing in a larger body does not qualify .) One of the most dangerous har...

Eil Lilly has recently announced that they are going to sell their weight loss drug, Zepbound, directly to consumers who can’t get insurance coverage and don’t qualify for other cost-lowering programs. They are going to do that through their private pharmacy Lilly Direct. The subject of whether drug companies should have their own pharmacies is a topic for another day. I’ve previously done deep di...

I got this question from reader Jenn: I was hate watching a workshop about “ob*sity” treatment and one of the people on the panel said that “ob*sity” isn’t a disease unless it impacts someone’s health. I don’t understand how that works? Thanks for the question Jenn. You don’t understand how it works because it doesn’t work. This is fully ludicrous and I’ve seen them make the claim in real time as...

In Part 1 , by reader request, I began a discussion of the NBC news article “Weight loss drugs like Wegovy may trigger eating disorders in some patients, doctors warn”. Today we'll complete that discussion. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

Many of you asked me to write about the NBC News Article “Weight loss drugs like Wegovy may trigger eating disorders in some patients, doctors warn” by Liz Szabo, Marina Kopf and Akshay Syal, M.D. 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! I received this question from reader Louise: I see you and other people talk about the weight loss industry, but what does that mean? Is it just drug companies and places like weight watchers? Do doctors who recommend weight loss count? Get full access to Weight and Healthca...

In part 1 we talked about a Medscape Today article that reader Antoni sent me about weight stigma in healthcare called “Weight Stigma is Bad Medicine.” The author, Mengyi (Zed) Zha, MD made important points about weight stigma, some of which aren’t often aren’t made. So there’s a lot of good in the article, which I appreciate. What Dr. Zha has written is brave (and she will undoubtedly get critici...

Reader Antoni sent me the following question. I saw this article posted on LinkedIn (Weight Stigma is Bad Medicine by Mengyi (Zed) Zha, MD in MedPageToday). I feel like the author made good points but it still doesn’t feel quite right to me. What do you think? Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

In part 1 we started looking at a company called PrescribeFit that is focused on getting referrals from orthopedics office of higher-weight patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) issues. We looked at the scientific basis they are using as well as their promises around efficacy. Today, we’ll look at what they have available for providers. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare...