Sociology professor and author Abigail Saguy joins us to discuss the effects of weight stigma, racism, poverty, and other systems of oppression on health; why you can’t “fight weight stigma” while promoting weight management; how supposedly sociocultural interventions often end up targeting individuals; coming out as an act of social change; and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether being in the highest BMI category really makes people more likely to get or die from COVID-19. 

Abigail Saguy is UCLA Professor of Sociology and the author of Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are (Oxford, 2020). Find her online at AbigailSaguy.com.

This episode is brought to you by ThredUP, the world’s largest online consignment and thrift store. Sell your old clothes and get new-to-you pieces at up to 90% off retail prices. Visit thredup.com/FOODPSYCH for 30% off your first purchase. Terms apply.

We Discuss:

• Abigail’s experiences with dieting and disordered eating as a teenager and young adult

• Privileged identities, and how they are often mistakenly considered “neutral”

• Sociology, and its role in recognizing and dismantling systems of oppression

• Abigail’s books, What’s Wrong with Fat and Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

• How she became interested in social movements, including the fat-acceptance movement

• The act of coming out as fat

• How the “[o-word] epidemic” narrative perpetuates weight stigma

• How a weight-centric approach actually harms health

• Why it’s not enough to fight weight stigma while promoting a weight-centric approach to health

• The association between higher weight and type 2 diabetes

• Racism, and its role in determining public health priorities in America

• Food insecurity, and its link to higher weight

• How supposedly sociocultural interventions often end up targeting individuals

• The effects of poverty and other social determinants on health, compared to individual behaviors

• COVID-19 and the American healthcare system

• The importance of community and organizing for social change

• How people can get involved in social change

• Coming out as a way to strengthen the collective

Resources Mentioned

Some of the links below are affiliate links. Affiliates or not, we only recommend products and services that align with our values.

• Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered on the podcast!

• My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals

• My book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

• Help spread the anti-diet message by subscribing to the podcast

• What’s Wrong with Fat by Abigail Saguy

• Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are by Abigail Saguy

• What is Sexual Harassment?: From Capitol Hill to the Sarbonne by Abigail Saguy

• Big Fat Lies by Glenn A. Gaesser

• The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)

• Shadow on a Tightrope edited by Lisa Schoenfielder and Barb Wieser

• Fat! So? by Marilyn Wann

• David Frederick’s work

• Paige Sweet’s work (CW: Domestic violence)

• Abigail’s website and Twitter

• This episode is brought to you by ThredUP, the world’s largest online consignment and thrift store. Sell your old clothes and get new-to-you pieces at up to 90% off retail prices. Visit thredup.com/FOODPSYCH for 30% off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Listener Question of the Week

Is being in the highest BMI category a risk factor for contracting or dying from COVID-19? What is the evidence behind some of these claims? What are some of the limitations of available evidence? How is data on H1N1 (swine flu) being used to inform our knowledge about COVID-19? What are some of the potential reasons that larger-bodied people tend to experience poorer health outcomes? Why should we be concerned by some of the data from the CDC? How does research on COVID-19 from China differ from data from the US? What are some potential negative effects of blaming body size for negative health outcomes? Why shouldn’t we try to lose weight during this pandemic? What does Christy predict that future research will say about the factors that increase COVID-19 risk?

Resources Mentioned: 

• “COVID-19 and Weight” (Christy’s April 6 blog post)

• "Covid-19 Does Not Discriminate by Body Weight" (Christy’s op-ed for Wired)