Weight bias Archives

Weight Bias and Figure Skating

July 15, 2023December 13, 2020 by drmuhlheim

Weight Stigma and Figure Skating [Image description: Carolyn at an ice skating competition] an eating disorder therapist challenges weight stigma in figure skating

By Carolyn Comas, LCSW, CEDS-S Figure Skating in a Larger Body For a long time, I was embarrassed to tell people that I was a figure skater. I was afraid that someone would look at me and laugh at the idea that someone like me skated. I felt this way because I am in a …

When Eating Disorder Providers Are Steeped in Diet Culture

July 23, 2023December 23, 2019 by drmuhlheim

Providers With Weight Stigma “People are concerned about the fact that I’m a therapist and have an eating disorder, and I’m like, ‘You’re concerned about me? I’m concerned about our entire fucking field.’” — Shira Rose, FoodPsych with Christy Harrison This quote has generated a lot of reactions. In this podcast, Shira—who lives in a …

Checking Our Own Weight Biases as Parents

January 13, 2023November 7, 2016 by drmuhlheim

Weight bias is a preference for thinness. In the words of psychologist Ashley Solomon, Psy.D., CEDS, “Weight bias is insidiously interwoven into the fabric of our culture.” Like many of us, I grew up in a family that possesses a great deal of weight bias. When I gained weight just before puberty my mother …

Ten Facts About Weight Stigma – Guest post by Liliana Almeida, Ph.D.

October 26, 2020September 29, 2014 by admin

Weight Stigm [Image description: larger black woman holding towel that says "wide load"]

Weight stigma is a bias or discrimination relating directly to weight. Despite the fact that more than half of U.S. citizens are larger-bodied, our society holds a strong negative bias against fatness. The media reinforces weight stigma. The media, such as news media, displays persons in larger bodies in stigmatizing ways by depicting them …