When Weight Matters

16/11/2025

Forgive us, but we are not buying hype. Food is not medicine. Food is life. Good food is essential for good health. But it is not a substitute for medicine. A discerning look at data behind recent headlines.
New study in JAMA.
https://conscienhealth.org/2025/11/really-food-is-medicine/

13/11/2025

Would you believe that obesity stigma “permeates” medical education and thus, healthcare? Dr Kofi Essel brings this out, with a call for change, in a new study with medical students at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Kudos!
https://conscienhealth.org/2025/11/stigmatizing-obesity-in-medical-schools/

12/11/2025

06/11/2025

https://conscienhealth.org/2025/10/a-rigorous-validation-of-food-noise-measurement/

With a new and rigorous validation of the RAID-FN scale, we now have yet another tool for measurement of food noise.

04/11/2025

Great network

Thinking of joining WIN? Take the leap and embark on a journey of growth, opportunity, and societal change ⭐️⁠
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We are a group of people whose lives are affected by overweight or obesity, who along with families and those who care, are committed to breaking weight stigma 💪🏽⁠
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If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.⁠
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✉️ info@auswin.org.au⁠

02/11/2025

Headlines are screaming that is “almost certainly” driving down. But that's almost certainly untrue.
https://conscienhealth.org/2025/11/seriously-can-use-of-glp-1s-lower-obesity-prevalence/

02/11/2025

https://drsue.ca/2025/11/what-women-need-to-know-polycystic-o***y-syndrome-perimenopause-and-masld-mash-fatty-liver/

Prefer to listen? Check out my podcast here! Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and steatohepatitis (MASH) (formerly called fatty liver disease or NAFLD/NASH)  affects all genders and is now one of the most common liver conditions worldwide – yet it often goes undiag...

30/10/2025

Patients with obesity who experience weight bias from healthcare providers:

→ Avoid seeking care
→ Switch physicians
→ Show decreased treatment adherence
→ Experience worse health outcomes

This isn't a "sensitivity" issue. It's a clinical outcomes issue.

The data is clear: perceived negative judgment based on body weight diminishes patient trust and adversely impacts quality of care. Some patients even use increased food consumption as a coping mechanism for weight-related stress.

Yet many healthcare clinicians—despite their best intentions—hold negative stereotypes about patients with obesity.

The solution isn't just awareness. It's systemic change:
✅ People-first language: "Patients with obesity," not "obese patients"
✅ Appropriate equipment: Exam tables, gowns, blood pressure cuffs that accommodate all body sizes
✅ Staff training: Address jokes and offensive phrases that patients overhear
✅ Clinical approach: Treat obesity as a disease, not a character flaw

The Obesity Medicine Association and American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians are leading this shift—recognizing that advocacy means seeking policy, environmental, and societal changes that enhance public awareness and facilitate access to compassionate, evidence-based treatment.

When we create obesity-appropriate clinical environments, we don't just make patients comfortable. We make them more likely to engage in care, adhere to treatment, and achieve better health outcomes.

That's not just the right thing to do. It's clinically essential. How is your organization addressing weight bias in patient care?

https://ow.ly/JNAb50XabxX?

29/10/2025

Madeleine Burgess says she's spent the majority of her life "feeling really unfeminine". Diagnosed with PCOS in her early teens, she says managing excess hair growth, a common symptom, is expensive and embarrassing.

23/10/2025

In the midst of considerable confusion and doubt about the phenomenon of , I'm delighted to see the outstanding validation work of the team for measuring food noise published in Appetite.
HT: Emily Dhurandhar
https://conscienhealth.org/2025/10/a-rigorous-validation-of-food-noise-measurement/

12/10/2025

Patients with obesity who experience weight bias from healthcare providers:
→ Avoid seeking care
→ Switch physicians
→ Show decreased treatment adherence
→ Experience worse health outcomes

This isn't a "sensitivity" issue. It's a clinical outcomes issue.

The data is clear: perceived negative judgment based on body weight diminishes patient trust and adversely impacts quality of care. Some patients even use increased food consumption as a coping mechanism for weight-related stress.

Yet many healthcare clinicians—despite their best intentions—hold negative stereotypes about patients with obesity.

The solution isn't just awareness. It's systemic change:
✅ People-first language: "Patients with obesity," not "obese patients"
✅ Appropriate equipment: Exam tables, gowns, blood pressure cuffs that accommodate all body sizes
✅ Staff training: Address jokes and offensive phrases that patients overhear
✅ Clinical approach: Treat obesity as a disease, not a character flaw

The Obesity Medicine Association and American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians are leading this shift—recognizing that advocacy means seeking policy, environmental, and societal changes that enhance public awareness and facilitate access to compassionate, evidence-based treatment.

When we create obesity-appropriate clinical environments, we don't just make patients comfortable. We make them more likely to engage in care, adhere to treatment, and achieve better health outcomes.

That's not just the right thing to do. It's clinically essential. How is your organization addressing weight bias in patient care?

10/10/2025

Obesity isn’t simply a matter of willpower or lifestyle — it’s a complex biological condition shaped by genetics, hormones, environment, and behaviour.

Emerging research shows that epigenetic mechanisms — changes in how our genes are expressed without altering our DNA, play a powerful role in how obesity develops, progresses, and even passes between generations.

These changes, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and chromatin accessibility, can influence:
•How our bodies store and burn fat
•Our risk for insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome
•Why some individuals remain metabolically healthy while others develop complications

The good news? Epigenetic changes are dynamic and reversible, opening doors to precision treatments and early detection through epigenetic biomarkers in blood.

As science advances, understanding the link between metabolism and epigenetics will be key to developing compassionate, evidence-based obesity care that looks beyond the scale.