In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Cortney Crespo who shares an important message and mindset change around the topic of weight, specifically weight inclusive care, a term new to me. Dr. Crespo is a family medicine physician in Massachusetts, MA completing her Integrative Medicine Educator Fellowship at Tufts University Family Medicine Residency, a novel fellowship designed to foster leadership, teaching, and research in Integrative Medicine. Her goal is to provide and teach comprehensive, holistic care with an equity lens. As we talk, she explains how the power differential between doctor and patient can cause the patient to feel unable to express their desire to not make weight the focus of the appointment. Dr. Crespo shares that clinicians focused on whole person care are also caring for their patients using weight inclusive care. With her patients she follows the acronym VEORS (validate, explore, offer, reinforce, shared decision making) when discussing weight. Clinicians are charged with validating that the patient has control over their body, exploring what the patient is seeking from weight loss, offering medical knowledge pertaining to health, reinforcing what health means, and sharing the decision making. This conversation made me stop and reflect on my practice. I hope the same for you. Enjoy!
Below are resources to learn more about weight inclusive care:
Organizations
Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) https://asdah.org/
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) https://naafa.org/
Blogs
Weight and Healthcare by Ragen Chastain https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/
Marquisele Mercedes https://www.marquiselemercedes.com/
Books
Revenge Body by Caleb Luna
Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith
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Dr. Wayne Jonas is a board-certified physician and Dr. Alyssa McManamon is a triple-board certified hematologist/oncologist. The opinions expressed on this show are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of their places of employment, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the United States government. The opinions expressed on this podcast are meant for entertainment and education and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor should they be used as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified, board-certified practicing clinician. Dr. Wayne Jonas and Dr. Alyssa McManamon have no relevant financial disclosures.