A review by bek_p87
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk about Fat by Aubrey Gordon
challenging
informative
inspiring
5.0
I need EVERYONE to read this book. I especially need every one of my colleagues in the medical profession to read this - and then re-read chapter 7 "First, Do No Harm" until it sinks in and changes the rampant anti-fat bias in medicine.
Sometimes I read books that are critical of the medical profession and have a knee-jerk "not all doctors" reaction - but not this time. As a fat woman and a GP, I know DAMN WELL how many - not all, but TOO F*CKING MANY - doctors view and treat fat people. Even though BMI was never designed to assess the health of individuals, even though the majority of health problems attributed to weight are actually caused by delayed access to healthcare and anti-fat bias, even though study after study has proven that NO DIET leads to long term weight loss and that constant weight fluctuations are WORSE for the body than simply being fat.
Of course, healthcare isn't the only setting in which fat people are discriminated against, and work needs to be done on multiple levels to improve the lives of fat people. But if I can convince even one of my colleagues to read this book and change their practice, I'll count it as a personal victory.
Sometimes I read books that are critical of the medical profession and have a knee-jerk "not all doctors" reaction - but not this time. As a fat woman and a GP, I know DAMN WELL how many - not all, but TOO F*CKING MANY - doctors view and treat fat people. Even though BMI was never designed to assess the health of individuals, even though the majority of health problems attributed to weight are actually caused by delayed access to healthcare and anti-fat bias, even though study after study has proven that NO DIET leads to long term weight loss and that constant weight fluctuations are WORSE for the body than simply being fat.
Of course, healthcare isn't the only setting in which fat people are discriminated against, and work needs to be done on multiple levels to improve the lives of fat people. But if I can convince even one of my colleagues to read this book and change their practice, I'll count it as a personal victory.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia