When I contact Fatima Cody Stanford, a leading obesity expert at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the first things she does is gently use my obese person, redirect me to the more neutral person with obesity instead (demonstrating that fat people are very capable of playing into the culture of fat phobia). “When we call someone obese, it doesn’t take into account the fact that there is an actual disease process that is controlled and regulated by the hypothalamus in the brain, causing each of us to regulate our weight differently,” Stanford explains. “When people look at obese patients – be it mild, moderate, or severe – they assume, ‘Oh, it’s something they’ve done to themselves, and they’ve become like that because of something they’ve done.’ We don’t impose that same thought processing or blame people with cancer. “
Stanford agrees that doctors are generally one of the “worst groups” in terms of perpetuating fat phobia, but she is determined to set a different standard of attention for her patients. She makes sure to place obesity in its larger sociocultural context, noting that racial minorities are more likely to be obese, in addition to already having a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. “When obese patients come to me and ask if they should get the vaccine, I give them a statement that is an unequivocal yes, because data shows that the outcomes of COVID-19 are significantly worse for obese patients. I am going to give them all the advice I can to make sure they are best protected from this virulent disease that has affected our entire lives, ”said Stanford.
While medical bias is a risk factor for many – if not most – overweight people, our own internalized fat phobia and self-judgment can be just as psychologically damaging. ‘At first I thought [my BMI qualifying me for the vaccine] was ironic because I might not have qualified if I hadn’t gained the weight I gained during the pandemic, ”says Catherine, 24, who will soon receive her first dose of the vaccine in Brooklyn. “I’m already afraid of some of the things people say or think I’ll get the vaccine, not just because I’ve gained weight, but also because I’m unemployed. It’s really hard not to feel like I’m both fat and out of work, which means I’m crappy or lazy. “Catherine is happy to receive the BMI-based vaccine, but she is also aware of the dissonance instilled in a deeply tainted food society:” It feels strange that I am seemingly rewarded for failing. “