Chewing the Facts
Join Sasha Borissenko as she untangles the science, history, and assumptions around fatness in NZ.
23/12/2023
Words have meaning - why do people feel awkward using the word ‘fat’? For Fern, it’s a descriptor.
Weightloss the wise words of ’s Michael Hobbes: “There are two issues with the saying, ‘calories in, calories out’. And that’s firstly, calories in, and secondly, calories out.” In other words, it’s not that simple.
“Heroin chic” was popularised in the 90s, and was part of a wave of o*esity panic that infiltrated popular media, research, public policy (and more). Systemic discrimination towards fat people in all areas of life continues today.
Check out ep 1 to hear more from Fern via Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. For all research, check out chewingthefacts.com.
Last week the incredible Sarah-Jane Duff of LaLA - Lost and Led Astray and Alexandra Sasha Borissenko got the chance to talk about the poddy on TVNZ - why must fat be forever lumped with health? And if we are going to talk about health, let's discuss the negative health implications of discrimination, eh?!
Ever wonder why fast food outlets tend to be clustered in lower socio economic areas? Why, there’s no national directive or policies regulating this phenomenon known as a ’food swamp’.
For more on food swamps, colonisation, and more, check out episode 3!
Why do people consider ‘fat’ to be a negative term? For long-time fat activist, Cath, untangling the word can be the start to understanding weight stigma
The etymology dictionary says o*ésité derives from Latin, o*esitas, meaning fatness or corpulence. ‘O*esus’ is defined as “eat itself fat”.
The Oxford Dictionary’s definition says ‘o*esity’ is the “quality or fact of being very fat, in a way that’s not healthy”.
The definitions conflate fatness with behaviour (ahem, the myth of personal choice) rather than describing a characteristic of a person. Utilised by policy-makers, researchers, and medical professionals, the term fuels fat stigma, according Otago University health researcher Lesley Gray.
If health is such a concern for medical professionals and policy-makers, why aren’t the health impacts resulting from discrimination included in the equation?
Health researcher Ash Gillon says the default position of prescribing weight loss is an error in thinking.
Ever wondered why there’s a whole aisle of fizzy drinks and there’s one type of avocado at $1m a pop? Competition issues - be it the supermarket duopoly, or big international suppliers - could be the answer.
Food and Grocery Council CEO Raewyn Blakely says every market will have a smaller # of large companies but it’s too strong an argument saying they dominate the market.
“That’s business, that’s the world we live in”.
The price is set by the supermarkets, she says.
Monopoly Watch’s Tex Edwards disagrees. Coca Cola declined to comment.
If policy makers think fatness is an 'issue' - then what's being done about the food environment, and who's pulling the strings? Chewingthefacts.com for more!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6heiq2FqFQPqkTH0bj2i6P?si=6d13e8da64bf41c9
‘O*esity panic’ describes the 90s phenomenon where fat people are paid tremendous attention, yet they’re also dismissed.
We see this where politicians describe ‘o*besity crisis’ yet there’s no real policies to improve the food environment.
Episode 8 out now, while stocks last!
Health researcher Ash Gillon teaches a 15 minute segment on fat bias to medical students. It takes more than six years to become a doctor.
Misrepresentations in marketing are sometimes called health halos. Research suggests consumers have confused low-fat with lower calories and lower cholesterol. Can we rely on the ol’ 99% fat free?
Episode 8 out now, while stocks last! Link in bio.
Are all food choices made equal? And what the heck is the Healthy Star Rating system? For tricks of the advertising trade, health halos, and more, check out episode 8, while stocks last!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MUMrFLe4JyUaOHxBCCXKZ?si=Ua8tok9tS7qPWKMbtaTiIw
Ummmm, yes.
In 2021, 60% of people from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US experienced weight stigma. Classmates, doctors and co-workers were listed as some of the most common sources behind friends and family.
University of Connecticut professor Rebecca Puhl says it’s one of the last socially acceptable forms of discrimination.
Check out chewingthefacts.com for more.
Few complaints of weight discrimination are made to the Human Rights Commission, but that’s not to say it isn’t happening.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=xuj_ryj8RKKICMXjb5kmyg
Flight crew member, Calvin (not their real name) says A330 planes have been getting smaller to fit more people in. Note, AirNZ and Jetstar don’t have these on their fleet. Should we be diverting energy from blaming individuals to questioning the built environment?
Check out episode 7 of Chewing the Facts, for more!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=xuj_ryj8RKKICMXjb5kmyg
It’s legal to discriminate against fat people in the workplace, education, health, and public settings. Why isn’t there any political or public appetite to change it? .borissenko investigates...
Check out episode 7 of Chewing the Facts, pronto!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4J9CUWtYPFuWlmeaFTkRKF?si=f1413111e05b41e9
17/09/2023
A Massey University study in 2005 asked fifty human resources people to rank fictitious CVs on the suitability of a role. Fat women applicants were ranked as having the poorest CV, despite no difference in qualifications or experience.
Thirty years worth of research has suggested fat people are perceived as lazy, and lacking self-discipline, self-control, and competency in the workplace.
As size increases, weight penalties increase, for example. A US study in 2010 found ‘very thin’ women earned US$22,283 more a year than women classified as having an ‘average’ weight. ‘Very fat’ women on the other hand earned $18,902.45 less than women with an ‘average’ weight.
Why fat discrimination in the workplace is legal in NZ Sasha Borissenko reports
Kylie was sent to Jenny Craig on the advice of her doctor. She was 10.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=xuj_ryj8RKKICMXjb5kmyg
Factcheck: There’s no conclusive evidence to suggest fatness = type 2 diabetes. Episode 6 explores the health impacts of weight bias. Why aren’t we focussing on that?!
Psychotherapist Emma Thomas says ideas around ‘good health’ are rooted in white supremacy and privilege.
Not convinced? Check out chewingthefacts.com for all of the research.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=xuj_ryj8RKKICMXjb5kmyg
Te Whatu Ora’s Derek Sherwood and Duncan Bliss said there’s no national policies that address weight discrimination in health settings.
Check out episode 6 to find out why! https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=xuj_ryj8RKKICMXjb5kmy
Why is it so hard to digest that you can be fat and healthy? And why is weight seen as a prerequisite at the doctor’s office? For a dose of health and fat, medical prejudice, and more, check out episode 6 of Chewing the Facts.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=89a2ebc75f1245e4
09/09/2023
One doctor, Florence*, told Chewing the Facts that telling people to lose weight even when it might be irrelevant was embedded in the healthcare system.
“It’s interesting the degree of defensiveness doctors have when any suggestion that they personally could be biased comes up.
“I wonder if some of the reluctance around doctors really getting on board with addressing weight stigma is [there’s] cognitive dissonance that ‘I can’t be biased because I’m a good doctor and I’m caring and you know I want the best for all my patients and so I couldn’t be contributing to poor [health outcomes]’.”
As a medical professional, she has witnessed colleagues openly mocking fat people by suggesting they be sent to the zoo for MRI scans, for example.
It was not only dehumanising and factually incorrect, it also meant the person needing an MRI went untested, she said.
To listen to this week's episode, click here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qB6v4YwwJr47arvVgQF52?si=80d1bcd1381d4a89
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fat-stigma-should-your-doctor-ask-about-your-weight-chewing-the-facts-episode-6/FD2ZXVKJ3RCFZPICHJXF7AO6EY/
'My doctor said I lied about my food habits - I was 8 years old' Sasha Borissenko busts some of the myths about fatness.
Why is it so hard to digest that you can be fat and healthy? And why is weight seen as a prerequisite at the doctor’s office? For a dose of health and fat, medical prejudice, and more, check out episode 6 of Chewing the Facts tomozza from wherever you get your podcasts!
For Sophie, who's a successful lawyer, she realised the extent of weight discrimination after she had bariatric surgery.
All this and more in episode 5 of Chewing the Facts. Link in bio!
And check out chewingthefacts.com
05/09/2023
Often cited as ‘cosmetic’ surgery, bariatric surgery has its risks and by no means is ‘an easy fix’. All this and more in episode 5 of Chewing the Facts. For all research sources check out chewingthefacts.com. Link to episode in the bio!
Kylie is one of 25% of gastric band patients where bariatric surgery didn’t ‘work’.
To learn more about the surgery, the hoops people have to jump through to get it, and what it means on a sociological level, see this week’s episode of Chewing the Facts via Spotify, IHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Chewingthefacts.com for show notes and research.
GIRD YOUR LOINS FOLKS! New episode out tomorrow!
Website
Address
6011