The Resource Post
This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing!
You may already be aware of The Research Post which is a post that I keep updated with research that supports weight-neutral health and/or points out issues with the weight-centric paradigm, as well as collections of research on specific topics. A number of you have requested a post with resources to help navigate weight stigma and weight loss/diet culture in healthcare and this is that post.
Feel free to let me know any resources that I missed!
Note: At the time that I linked to these resources the links worked and they were fully weight-neutral as far as I could see. Please let me know if you find any broken links and/or weight stigma or weight loss/diet culture in any of them.
Lists of weight-neutral providers
ASDAH (the Association for Size Diversity and Health) keeps of list of their members who have been vetted
Mary Lambert Compiled a number of community sourced lists
Christy Harrison has a list of non-diet providers
https://christyharrison.com/haes-anti-diet-intuitive-eating-providers-eating-disorder-recovery
More-Love List of Non-Diet Dietitians
https://more-love.org/resources/professional-directory/
Jen McLellan has a directory here for size-friendly doulas and birth/parenting professionals that requires size-inclusivity maternity training (accredited by the California State Board of Nursing and the International Childbirth Education Association for contact hours).
Size Inclusive Health Australia has a list of Australian providers. (Thanks to Dr. Annette Ostermeyer for letting me know about this one!)
https://www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au/find-a-provider
Diagnosis/condition-specific information
FLARE’s In Our Image database provides imaging options to accommodate higher-weight people
You can find the imaging database here
The HAES Health Sheets are diagnosis-specific, weight-neutral care guides for patients, providers, and advocates
Meghan Cichy, LLC’s HAES Nutrition Handouts provide weight-neutral nutrition information for various conditions and diagnoses in English and Spanish
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15dSypccNhGNyir7a642UZvfgKkHnI196
Mosaic Comprehensive Care has a sheet specific to weight-inclusive care for osteoarthritis
https://mosaiccarenc.com/uncategorized/joints-weight-inclusive-care-osteoarthritis/
Tools for Self-Advocacy
Don’t Weigh Me Cards
More-Love.org created cards to help patients decline weigh-in
https://more-love.org/free-dont-weigh-me-cards/
What to Say at the Doctor’s Office Cards
These cards give phrasing to use with a healthcare provider (or can simply be handed to them) and include a QR code to a research list
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/what-to-say-at-the-doctors-office
The originals, which have been translated into Spanish, French, and German are available here
https://danceswithfat.org/2019/12/16/cards-to-help-fat-patients-at-the-doctors-office-english-and-french-versions/
Correct length vaccine needle cards
I created these printable cards to ask for the correct size needle for vaccination
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/how-to-get-the-correct-size-needle
Resources for fighting BMI-based healthcare denials
These include general procedures and research collections for joint surgeries, gender affirming procedures, and lumbar spinal surgeries
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/bmi-limits-healthcare-held-hostage
Resources for eating disorder insurance appeals (can be used for other appeals as well)
I created these with the amazing folks at Project HEAL.
https://www.theprojectheal.org/blog/insurance-appeals
Troncoconical Blood Pressure Cuff
A reader found an at-home troncoconical blood pressure cuff (full disclosure: this is NOT an affiliate link, I don’t make anything when people click on it)
Here is the link for Amazon: amzn.to/40B0W28
Here is the direct manufacturer link: https://medical.andonline.com/product/premium-blood-pressure-monitor-with-extra-large-cuff-ua-789ac/
Scripts to ask for Accommodation
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/templates-to-ask-for-accommodation
Video workshop: dealing with weight stigma at the doctor’s office
there is a pay-what-you-can option so that money isn’t a barrier.
https://danceswithfat.org/monthly-online-workshops/#fatphobia-at-the-doctors-office
You can see the complete list of my video workshops here
https://danceswithfat.org/monthly-online-workshops/workshop-video-library/
Resources for Healthcare Providers
Medical Students for Size Inclusivity
A community of medical students raising awareness about the harms of weight discrimination in the healthcare system
https://sizeinclusivemedicine.org/
GLP-1 Agonist Informed Consent - https://sizeinclusivemedicine.org/glp1/
Weight Centric vs Weight-Inclusive chart - https://sizeinclusivemedicine.org/chart/
Bariatric Surgery Informed Consent Project - https://sizeinclusivemedicine.org/bsx/
See all of their resources on their “Resources” Drop Down
Association for Weight and Size Inclusive Medicine
An international medical organization working to advance weight-inclusive care
https://weightinclusivemedicine.org/
Resources - https://weightinclusivemedicine.org/learn/
Weight-Neutral Health Advocate Training
I created this training that is hosted by the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates that includes 3 hours of continuing education - CEs: 3.0 J.E.D.I. CEs
https://courses.practiceuponline.com/courses/weight-neutral-advocate-training/
Size-Inclusive Office Audit
An audit for creating a size-inclusive healthcare office
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/creating-a-size-inclusive-healthcare
Tips for providing X-Rays, MRIs and CT Scans to Higher-Weight Patients
https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/providing-x-rays-mris-and-ct-scans
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More research and resources:
https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/
*Note on language: I use “fat” as a neutral descriptor as used by the fat activist community, I use “ob*se” and “overw*ight” to acknowledge that these are terms that were created to medicalize and pathologize fat bodies, with roots in racism and specifically anti-Blackness. Please read Sabrina Strings Fearing the Black Body – the Racial Origins of Fat Phobia and Da’Shaun Harrison Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness for more on this.
Would you ever consider adding my favorite poster of yours, that visually spells it out the problems with assuming health behaviors based on body size?
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:b783c238-5193-4d8a-b794-5b1eb78728f5
I am printing it out to replace BMI posters that are in exam rooms I am in.
Thank you, thank you, Ragen. Those of us who are plugged into this community may already be familiar with some of these resources, or at least where to go and look for them. But there are so many others out there who don't even know where to begin to connect with these valuable assets. Thank you so much for creating yet another incredibly important resource for all of us to share.