Media & Research Roundup - December 2024

Dec 16

*[Image description: An image of a person’s hands in purple medical gloves working with various laboratory vials and test.]*

By Bill and Terri Weitze with additional contributions from the NAAFA Communications Committee

CONTENT WARNING: Some articles featured in the Media & Research Roundup may refer to stigmatizing events or use stigmatizing language.

November 2024: A study published in Stigma and Health finds that weight stigma and internalized weight bias in health care led to avoidance and mistrust. Another in the same issue is about demographic predictors for internalized weight stigma in U.S. adults. A third deals with healthcare providers learning to respond without weight-based prejudice.

November 15, 2024: Diabetes Spectrum contains an article on future medications that will be based on nutrient regulated hormones; research shows they can reduce some complications associated with presumed fat-based chronic disease. It is important to consider the heavy conflicts of interest at play with this type of research.

November 8, 2024: A new warning is now required for patients who use GLP-1 drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide, etc.) who are undergoing general anesthesia or deep sedation. These patients have an increased risk of aspiration and regurgitation under anesthesia.

November 10, 2024: Research finds that 7 out of 10 posts on X (formerly Twitter) from the general public, celebrities, and organizations are negative toward fatness, which can have adverse effects on public health. Another study finds posts from celebrities on fatness get far more likes than those from health institutions.

November 11, 2024: In the “no duh” column, researchers find a link between income inequality and obesity rates; a higher minimum wage reduces the impact.

November 19, 2024: Researchers find that stress may be associated with insulin resistance. Stress hormones work in opposition to insulin while increasing glucose and lipids in the bloodstream.

November 23, 2024: This study finds that cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, with fatness less of a factor than previously thought.

November 25, 2024: Living in a region with a higher percentage of fat people lowers weight bias effects in close relationships, economic outcomes, and health per this research; suggesting that the harm of being fat is partly societal and thus, not inevitable. Here is a radio broadcast on this study.

November 26, 2024: President Biden has proposed having Medicare pay for costly “anti-ob*sity”drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro by calling ob*sity a chronic disease. A CBS News report on the Biden proposal is linked here.

November 27, 2024: An essay in The New Inquiry discusses the history of and the current use by the weight-loss industry of Black celebrities to sell diets and body dissatisfaction to the public.

November 27, 2024: In 2017 Philadelphia implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. A study shows that in the two years following the tax, there was no associated change in pediatric weight outcomes as evidenced in previous studies where a fat tax has been imposed and abandoned. It is interesting to note that these taxes don’t have the intended effect, but it is also important for us to continue fighting against the narrative that fat people can or should try and change their bodies.

December 1, 2024: From interviews with 14 participants on the higher end of the weight spectrum from Norway, researchers looked at the root causes of weight stigma in healthcare settings.

December 1, 2024: An article in Psychology Today discusses the physical and mental problems caused by society’s and individual’s obsession with the “thin ideal”.

December 2, 2024: The Washington Post comments on Mehmet Oz’s potential appointment to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and his financial ties (past and current) with drug manufacturers, including Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of Ozempic.

December 4, 2024: Medical News Today provides a format on how to self-advocate as a fat patient. Though this article is written from the perspective of pathologizing higher-weight bodies and links to several dangerous weight-loss industry funded organizations like the Obesity Action Coalition, it also links to tools and resources created by experts working for fat liberation so we wanted to include it for your cautious consumption.

December 4, 2024: A study concludes that better size acceptance education is needed in medical training to bridge knowledge gaps and reduce weight stigma by physicians.

December 5, 2024: A small study of dietitians providing acute nutrition care in hospitals looks at why they are limiting such care for fat patients. Researchers called for a cultural shift so that dietetic professionals consider all nutrition care needs of their fat patients.