“That could have killed me.” How anti-fat bias can be dangerous, even deadly, for heavier patients
Name
harper-kharper1-sm-cmsw-2021_thesis.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
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378.23 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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9f19527ea72646764806c7a36ff74c66
Author(s)
Harper, Kelso
Advisor(s)
De Chant, Tim
Date Issued
September 2021
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
We live in a society that values and treats people differently based on their body size. Such weight stigma can affect a person’s relationships, career opportunities, and daily life. And when this bias infiltrates a doctor’s office or hospital, it puts heavier patients at risk. Discrimination of any kind is bad for a person’s mental and physical health, but weight discrimination in medicine can also discourage patients from seeking care, exclude them from certain treatments, and lead to dangerous misdiagnoses. Drawing from the knowledge of a dozen experts and the experiences of a dozen patients, this thesis explores the myriad ways that medical weight bias can gravely impact the health and well-being of larger-bodied people. It also asks: where do we go from here?
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing
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