Fatphobia is literally killing people
It began as an alarming rash on her ankles and calves. Visits to urgent care would leave her with wrapped legs and no solution, sent home without a second thought. A bad fall on her knee caps soon after would also be brushed off with advice to lose weight in order to alleviate pressure on her joints. But visit after visit, nothing was ever resolved, not until Cindy Epley could barely walk.
Cindy's experience is not singular. Systemic and institutional fatphobia have undeniably penetrated their ways through nearly every aspect of daily life. Whether it be the lack of job opportunities available to overweight candidates or the countless weight loss programs promoted in the media, there's no escaping society's distaste for those with larger body types. Perhaps the most damaging aspect of this, however, is the weight bias amongst doctors and medical professionals.
Jay added,"Of course it's not just genetics, but genetics does play a large role. You start off with a genetic disposition, and then you go through life and have environmental exposures and then you do or you don't develop [obesity]... Our food environment, the fact that we're more sedentary than we were 30 or 50 years ago—all of those things make it more likely."
"I avoid going to the doctor to extremes," said Anna Swenson, 28."I've had a shoulder injury for years now, and I stopped trying to fix it for a long time because too many doctors told me the solution was 'lose weight.' I had that suggested to deal with my anxiety, depression, and many other illnesses that have nothing to do with body size—to the point where I will avoid going to the doctor for years just so I don't have to put myself in a hateful situation.
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