At ASIHC, we strive to create a healthcare system that prioritizes equitable, inclusive care regardless of body size, weight, and appearance.

 

Since the development of the BMI scale in the mid-19th century, physicians have assumed that people of smaller body sizes are inherently healthier than those of larger body sizes. This was largely due to social factors rather than thorough research findings. Though the BMI scale was never intended to be used as a health measure for individuals, it ranks high in patients’ medical histories and suggests a (flawed) way of judging one’s overall health. As a result, a pattern of treating people of larger body size as inherently unhealthy has made its way into the healthcare education system. We strive to change this pattern by adopting a size- and weight-neutral approach to our future patients while still considering evidence-based, related health factors. Furthermore, we want to bring attention to the stigma surrounding the complex interplay between race and size/weight stigma in medicine.