We must alter how children (and adults) are taught about weight.
For women's magazines, I published a lot of nutrition-related articles when I first started my journalism career.
The majority of these articles were released under the pretense of guiding women toward "better food decisions" or "improving their health.
" But I've always had a queasy feeling about them. I preferred not to talk about weight loss directly,
but I would then quote research that found that being overweight increased the likelihood of developing various medical disorders.
Although the post was presented as a compilation of low-carb breakfast suggestions, I didn't want to advocate dieting.
I had no idea how to object to these tasks or how to discuss health without relating it to a person's height or weight.
Then, in 2018, I discovered the work of Virginia Sole-Smith. Journalist Sole-Smith contributes articles about food, parenting, and health to a number of periodicals as well as to her newsletter, Burnt Toast.
For me, learning about her writing was a revelation. Sole-Smith questioned commonplace beliefs about anti-fat prejudice, diet culture, and health standards.
She also demonstrated to me that it was possible to discuss these issues without succumbing to the idea that having a slimmer body and losing weight were the answers.
Her work has given me the confidence to alter the way that I report on diet and health.