What to Say at the Doctor's Office - Updated Printable Cards
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Years ago, on my original blog, I created some printable cards that could be taken to the doctor’s office. I decided it is time to update them. In particular on the original cards I listed a bunch of research URLs on the back of the card which was difficult to print and a pain to try to access since someone had to type pretty complicated links in by hand. I’ve replaced these with a bit.ly and QR code (yay technology!) that links to a list of the supporting research on the front of the card to simplify both printing and access.
To print them you can right-click and choose “save image as” and then print the image from your computer.
The first card offers phrases you can use at the doctor’s office, including a link/QR code to get to the research list.
![Helpful Phrases at the Doctor’s Office Do thin people get this health issue? What do you recommend for them? A century of research shows that almost everyone who attempts weight loss loses weight short-term and then gains it back long-term. Show me a study where a majority of subjects succeeded at the amount of weight loss you are suggesting for at least five years. Shame and stigma are shown to negatively impact health. Please provide me with shame-free care so that you avoid doing harm. Due to a low rate of success and serious, possibly fatal, side effects, weight loss drugs/surgery are not an option I’m interested in. In our limited time, I would like to focus on [what I came in for] not weight loss. I’m exercising my right of informed refusal of weight loss interventions. Supporting Research at bit.ly/WeightInclusiveResearch](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7mjt!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ad2eaef-8d5e-4f5b-a628-c8de45363ccc_1080x1080.png "Helpful Phrases at the Doctor’s Office Do thin people get this health issue? What do you recommend for them? A century of research shows that almost everyone who attempts weight loss loses weight short-term and then gains it back long-term. Show me a study where a majority of subjects succeeded at the amount of weight loss you are suggesting for at least five years. Shame and stigma are shown to negatively impact health. Please provide me with shame-free care so that you avoid doing harm. Due to a low rate of success and serious, possibly fatal, side effects, weight loss drugs/surgery are not an option I’m interested in. In our limited time, I would like to focus on [what I came in for] not weight loss. I’m exercising my right of informed refusal of weight loss interventions. Supporting Research at bit.ly/WeightInclusiveResearch")
The second is a card for you to print out and hand to your doctor that explains weight-neutral health, what that means for the way that you interact, and, again, provides a link/QR code to the research list.
I wish these cards weren’t necessary and I hope that they are helpful! Of course, feel free to use these as a starting point to make cards that are right for you!
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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’s Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness for more on this.
Thank you so much. I'm changing primary care providers because I moved, and have been dreading the possibility of weight stigma. These cards are so helpful, just in case. My last provider was wonderful and collaborative, so at least I got to have that experience 🤩
Thank you so much for these. I'm fat but also work in occupational health and signpost so many service users to your resources.