Many of my non-fat friends (and some of my fat friends) have never heard of the HAES® (Health at Every Size) approach to healthcare.

It is an important concept – a concept of treating the patient in an environment of weight neutrality.

It is a concept (as I understand it) of trying to help the patient be as healthy as they can be in the body they are currently living in.

Here’s a link to the HAES ® principles:

HAES Principles

It is a philosophy that I wish all healthcare professionals were familiar with.

Did you know when a fat person goes to the doctor, for whatever problem, the problem (even bronchitis) is blamed on their weight.

They are told that the only hope of feeling better is to lose weight.

Even though the doctor KNOWS that diets do not work about 95% of the time, and in the long run, often lead to other health problems and further weight gain.

How would you feel if your doctor constantly recommended a treatment that not only failed but was possibly harmful 95% of the time?

You’d probably want another doctor.

Well, if you’re fat, good luck with that.  Most (but thankfully not all) doctors harbor fat bias – in fact have been trained for it at medical school.

No wonder fat people avoid the going to the doctor.

One reason health outcomes for fat people are so bad may be blamed on avoidance of seeking medical care until the problem is no longer minor; and sadly, those who do seek medical care are often put off with the “it’s your fault for being fat” answer until the problem is no longer minor.

Fucks with the statistics, I imagine, and once again the fatty is blamed for being a burden on society for escalating healthcare costs.

So fat folk often are in a “damned if you do / damned if you don’t” situation when seeking healthcare.

Is fat, in an of itself, unhealthy?

Maybe.

But fat bias, especially in the healthcare profession, almost certainly is.