Media & Research Roundup - January 2024
Image description: A photo of a lined notebook laying open with a silver calligraphy pen on top of it. There is writing in black ink on the open pages.
By Bill and Terri Weitze
CONTENT WARNING: Some articles featured in the Media & Research Roundup may refer to stigmatizing events or use stigmatizing language.
December 13, 2023: Still confounding weight with health, the New York Times talks with Oprah about her use of Ozempic for weight management and covers her history of weight cycling. The Times also ran this opinion piece about Oprah’s relationship with dieting and how it affects average women.
December 13, 2023: Southwest Airlines is being praised for accommodating fat passengers by allowing them to purchase one seat and get another for free, even if it means removing another ticketed passenger from the flight. Fat passengers are advised to still purchase the number of seats needed and then request a refund after the flight to be sure that additional seats are available. See Southwest’s policy and procedures here.
December 19, 2023: As reported here, a recent study finds an association between body dissatisfaction in late childhood and adolescent depression, urging that any interventions aimed at reducing weight in childhood avoid body dissatisfaction and weight stigma, which is impossible.
December 20, 2023: The new movie prequel to the Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is catching some criticism because it has held on to one of Dahl’s biases: anti-fatness. Donning multiple fat suits, Keegan-Michael Key becomes fatter and fatter because of his desire for more and more chocolate.
January 2024: The 10th Annual Weight Stigma Conference taking place June 16-17 in Colchester United Kingdom (and online) is now accepting abstracts for oral presentations and posters, as well as session proposals including brief symposia, round tables, debates, and workshops. Submission proposals and oral presentations deadline is February 23, 2024. Poster submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis with no deadline.
January 11, 2024: The first part of this New York Times article tells how diets don’t work. Unfortunately, the second part implies that dieting doesn’t really cause harm and that you need to be ready to “diet” for life.