"This is Redefining Body Image's go-to list of resources, articles, research, videos, etc. providing facts and information regarding health and body image, especially dedicated to debunking the everyone's favorite myth that fat = unhealthy.
If I referred you to this page and this way of thinking about fat and fat health is new to you, I encourage you to have an open mind....
Let the facts come marching in.
- Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift
- Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer.
- The TRUE Cost of Fatties - Looking closely at how obesity impacts gas costs and health care, which is to say not at all.
- More on Obesity and Healthcare Costs here.
- Stereotype Management Skills by Deb Burgard, PhD. discusses how to refute fat shaming propaganda, among other helpful things.
- Uncommon Knowledge About Changes in Body Weight by Lily O’Hara
- Things Obesity is Not by Ragen Chastain
- 'Everyone knows' obesity kills, but is weight loss the answer? by Lydia Turner
- Above-Normal Weight Alone Does Not Necessarily Increase Short-Term Risk of Death, U.S. Data Suggest - Science Daily, July 2012
- Among diabetes patients, the obese outlive the trim - a study that cracks fat health stereotypes about type 2 diabetes
- 'Fitness and Fatness': Not All Obese People Have the Same Prognosis; Second Study Sheds Light On 'Obesity Paradox' - People can be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, with no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people, according to the largest study ever to have investigated this seeming paradox.
- This TED talk by Julie Rochefort called “Shift the Focus” discusses and displays a lot of really important data based around the fact that health is possible at EVERY size. A short 8 minute video that covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
- This extensive article by Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D. called Obesity, Health, and Metabolic Fitnessdebunks a number of myths regarding fat health. Many important topics are covered, from “thinner is not necessarily healthier” to “emphasis on weight loss” being “misdirected and hazardous”, to challenging the link between obesity and heart disease. A very comprehensive and informative resource.
- Fear Mongering for the Nation by Fat Body Politics - A critical look at the HBO documentary Weight of the Nation.
- Why Diets are Harmful and Counterproductive by Linda Bacon challenges conventional wisdom regarding obesity and weight loss to support the conclusion that “Weight is a baseless measure for health, and weight loss a counterproductive goal.”
- Peter Attia Ted Talk: Is the “obesity crisis” hiding a bigger problem? - Challenges conventional approaches to how diabetes and fat health is framed in society, touching on the science involved in insulin resistance and metabolic issues.
Fat Acceptance/Size Discrimination Related Resources (WIP)
Body Positivity Resources (WIP)
Thank you.