Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the Ozempic craze running rampant across the world. I’m not going to bore you with my thoughts about it being used for weight loss. Instead, I want to share a fascinating article from Dr. Mara Gordon: I try to be a body-positive doctor. It’s getting harder in the age of Ozempic
There are so many golden nuggets in this article, that I had the hardest time picking the ones I wanted to share! But let me start with this one:
… it was unsettling to recognize myself in some of the encounters they described. I had told my own patients, dozens of times: “Your knee pain might get better if you just lost a few pounds.” As if my patients hadn’t thought of that already. As if they hadn’t already tried. …
F***ing FINALLY! A doctor willing to admit this! It’s about damn time (did that bring your inner Lizzo out? No? Just me? Ok, carry on. lol). I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I was fat-shamed and treated like shit by a doctor for even something as simple as a head cold even though I had been doing everything in my power to lose weight (including binging & purging)! 😲
My favorite part and where I think I truly fell in ‘love’ with Dr. Gordon? The thing I’ve been saying is bullshit for several years now: BMI (body mass index). But don’t take my word for it:
I also started reading more about the history of the body mass index and exactly how unscientific it is. The concept of BMI – weight relative to height – was developed in the 19th centuryby a Belgian astronomer and mathematician who wanted to define the “average man.” But his “average” was white, European and male, and didn’t take into account genetic differences or muscle mass.
If the origin of BMI sounds like quackery, that’s because it is.
Did you get that? Developed in the 19th freaking century to define the AVERAGE MAN – European and male. 🤦 But yet the BMI is still continuously used as some sort of vital stat. 😡 Why?! But thank you, again, Dr. Gordon, for admitting something that goes against everything most others believe. I love she had the balls to admit BMI is unscientific! Kudos! 👏
Because the topic, of this article, is about Ozempic I do want to share something she says about that:
Being a body-positive doctor in the age of Ozempic has made me realize, sadly, that I alone can’t stop the fatphobia that permeates our culture. As long as it exists, we’ll have a market for medicines that make people thin.
As long as fatphobia exists, there will always be a market for things to make people thin. 😥 Yep and that’s why the diet industry brings in billions of dollars, sadly. (Last I read it was a 75 billion dollar industry! That makes me so sad.)
Anywho, the article talks more about Ozempic and how it fits into her weight-neutral approach as a doctor. It’s full of some juicy info that gives you lots to chew on! And if you’re wondering whether or not she prescribes it to her fat patients… well you’ve have to read to find out 🤪
Check it out here: I try to be a body-positive doctor. It’s getting harder in the age of Ozempic
Glad someone is talking about that BMI bull ****. I was denied insurance on my mortgage by my bank (even though I had over 40 years as a customer) as I was considered overweight based on that scale. I don't know if I ever actually fit anywhere on it. However, what I discovered is that the insurance given by the bank goes down as your mortgage goes down. I got straight insurance for the amount and it stayed at the original rate.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. The BMI stuff is such bullshit (I’ve been saying this for several years) – I can’t believe you were denied insurance because of the BMI… that makes me so angry; it’s such nonsense!