This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! You may have heard of the “Ob*sity Bill of Rights” It’s part of what they are calling the “Right2Ob*sityCare Movement” which has, as its immediate goal, lobbying state and federal government for insurance coverage for products and interventions sold by the weight loss industry. From the site:
Not gonna lie: I genuinely think this is setting healthcare progress back about 50 years for fat patients. Possibly more.
It brings tears to my eyes to think about how much harder we have to fight to overcome this, and about all the fat people who are entirely unaware and are trusting their healthcare providers to provide evidence-based healthcare.
Searching for someone to replace my hip it's clear to me I don't have a right to health care. I have to prove myself worthy in order to get a replacement everyone says I most certainly need. I'm sure they believe it's for my own good. Although I can consent to other treatments that have definite risks, I'm not allowed that right in the instance of joint replacement.
What I find so scary about all of this is that they can frame this as compassionate care, which makes it hard for anyone to push back.
I am reminded of when I worked in a hospital and one of our e-learnings was about how to treat "bariatric patients" ("bariatric" meant anyone in a larger body, not those being subject to bariatric surgery!). It was so patronizing, but anyone who doesn't know better might have read it and thought that this came from a place of kindness.
I'll just add, I am not a person in a larger body, so I like to be cautious in what I add to these sorts of conversations. But, it all enrages me! As a therapist, I hear about frustrating instances that people encounter with doctors all the time...and I end of feeling so helpless on their behalf, and so upset that doctors can use their power in this way. The problem is that a lot of doctors truly do not know any better and truly believe that they are providing compassionate care.
There is a lot of money and power in this. It feels like a losing battle. And it is going to make health care worse for those of us with bigger bodies. It is already bad enough.
The whole thing reminds me of Henry Ford's famous quote that you could get a Model T in any color you like so long as it's black. You have the right to any care your fat body needs so long as it's intentional weight loss.
Not gonna lie: I genuinely think this is setting healthcare progress back about 50 years for fat patients. Possibly more.
It brings tears to my eyes to think about how much harder we have to fight to overcome this, and about all the fat people who are entirely unaware and are trusting their healthcare providers to provide evidence-based healthcare.
Searching for someone to replace my hip it's clear to me I don't have a right to health care. I have to prove myself worthy in order to get a replacement everyone says I most certainly need. I'm sure they believe it's for my own good. Although I can consent to other treatments that have definite risks, I'm not allowed that right in the instance of joint replacement.
What I find so scary about all of this is that they can frame this as compassionate care, which makes it hard for anyone to push back.
I am reminded of when I worked in a hospital and one of our e-learnings was about how to treat "bariatric patients" ("bariatric" meant anyone in a larger body, not those being subject to bariatric surgery!). It was so patronizing, but anyone who doesn't know better might have read it and thought that this came from a place of kindness.
I'll just add, I am not a person in a larger body, so I like to be cautious in what I add to these sorts of conversations. But, it all enrages me! As a therapist, I hear about frustrating instances that people encounter with doctors all the time...and I end of feeling so helpless on their behalf, and so upset that doctors can use their power in this way. The problem is that a lot of doctors truly do not know any better and truly believe that they are providing compassionate care.
I just…
They hate us so much.
There is a lot of money and power in this. It feels like a losing battle. And it is going to make health care worse for those of us with bigger bodies. It is already bad enough.
The whole thing reminds me of Henry Ford's famous quote that you could get a Model T in any color you like so long as it's black. You have the right to any care your fat body needs so long as it's intentional weight loss.