Simple Nutrition Insights

Understanding Weight Stigma, Its Harm, And What To Do

• Leonila • Season 3 • Episode 4

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We explore how weight bias harms health, from early childhood to exam rooms, and why care must center respect, context, and evidence over assumptions. Practical steps show how to shift language, policies, and environments for safer, more effective support at any size.

• clear definition of weight bias and stigma
• difference between health promotion and shaming
• early onset in children and gendered patterns
• impact in healthcare and delayed diagnoses
• patient rights around weigh-ins and boundaries
• personal story on thin shaming and celiac disease
• media representation and campus attitudes
• internalized bias, anxiety, and low self-esteem
• weight as a number vs whole-person health
• practical clinic changes and zero-tolerance policies
• implicit bias tests and language shifts
• celebrating non-scale wins and finding safe care

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it, especially, you know, someone that uh is struggling with that or has said, or you see that they have weight bias, or a friend navigating, you know, their own relationship with food and body image

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com

My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SqBP44jMNYSzlcJjOKJdg

SPEAKER_00:

Hey, hey everybody, welcome back to Simple Nutrition Insights. I'm Janila, registered dietitian, and your host, and today we're talking about something that deeply impacts health, healthcare, and how we see ourselves. Weight bias. This episode is inspired by the work of Debbie Emma's PhD, whose research and writing highlight how weight bias shows up in everyday life, and more importantly, how harmful it can be. If you ever felt judged or dismissed or ashamed because of your body size by society, by healthcare providers, or even by yourself, this episode is for you. So let's start with a simple question, right? But first, Debbie, welcome. Dr. Amos, welcome to the podcast. Yes. Um, so what how will you describe weight bias?

SPEAKER_01:

So weight bias is actually called a number of different things. But according to the National Eating Disorder Association, weight bias, or we can call it weight dis weight-based discrimination, weight stigma. We also have uh fat shaming as well as skinny shaming. And basically, all in all, it's gonna refer to the negative attitudes, beliefs, stereotypes, and also discriminatory behaviors directed towards individuals. And it's gonna be based on their body weight or size. This is expanded by a number of different organizations, but as a whole, it's basically looking at a person and judging them by their appearance. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, thank you for describing that, right? And so weight bias is different from health promotion, right? You can use, you can care about health without shaming bodies.

SPEAKER_01:

Can you talk a little bit more about that too? Oh, sure. Yeah, there's as we know, there's different ways to approach different people. But there are certain terms that can be taken very negatively toward individuals. And weight bias in the United States, especially, is more core geared toward people who are of a heavier nature. However, it does happen to those that are underweight. I have experienced this myself, and it hurts just as bad. I think that anything looking at someone for their body shape or their body size and basically shaming them for that without understanding where they come from, it causes them to feel isolated, which can cause mental issues, which goes over into emotional and physical and potentially even spiritual on after that. So it's um it's very detrimental to the mind.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. And so, where in your work or the research that you've done, have you read or experienced when does weight bias start or how is it presented?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. So, weight bias, unfortunately, even in school children, happens in one out of three individuals. When they're being bullied, one out of three of them, it's literally only because of their size. Not intellect, maybe an embarrassing thing that they did. It's only based on size. And as I said, in America, it's usually when they're larger. And what's even scarier is we're noticing it even more in three year olds. Three year olds. That's crazy. That's you know, pre-K or even below when it's based on environmental exposure. This is coming from three-year-olds.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah. As I thank you for for that answer. And as a parent, right, and as a prior practice dietitian, this is something that um I learned from my clients, right? That maybe at a younger age they were seen uh differently, right? Because maybe this their size was different. And so it's so important, you know, it's a specifically as parents, right, to understand that the way that we talk about ourselves, the way that we talk about our bodies or someone else's body impacts children significantly, right? Children learn at home. That's essentially the first learning environment. And then, of course, school, right? Absolutely. And so the way that we talk to them, right, the way that we describe them or the way that we describe our bodies, to them that's normal, right? So if we are, you know, shaming ourselves or shaming how our body looks, that's essentially going to be reflected into them as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. We've even noticed there have been some studies done that it's different for boys and girls where they're first basically interaction of any sort of bias toward their sizes. In young boys, it's typically in the school system. So whether that be by peers, and there are a lot of accounts of where even teachers are not giving them basically the due justice to giving them an adequate amount of attention is they they think kind of the same things that I described as a three-year-old does, is that those children that are a little bit heavier are stupid, they're unmotivated, and they're lazy. So they put less effort toward those individuals. That's in boys, but as you mentioned, it happens in the home too. And we've noticed that young girls, their first account of weight, any sort of weight bias, discrimination is actually typically by their parents and it's in the home. It's interesting the difference in those genders, but I think it emphasizes how careful that we have to be whenever we speak to anybody. Right. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, and so how have you seen that also in healthcare or in the healthcare setting, like how we're seen or, you know, how it's presented?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely. And they've done some different studies on that. And we're seeing if you look at healthcare providers as far as physicians and then RNs, mental health professionals and RDNs, approximately 69% of those individuals that are discriminating are physicians. Then it drops down to nurses where we're seeing the most. And then even RDNs, they're saying out of that category, 39% of RDNs, which I mean it's you and I, that that's our job to help people change and modify their lifestyles and be positive, be motivators, helping them to make changes, not discriminating against them. Because typically, when that type of thing happens, if an individual is stigmatized in the healthcare setting, I mean, you think about how you would feel. You're gonna feel isolated. You're like, oh no, do I even feel like telling my doctor anything? Do I want to come back to this doctor? Do I want to come back to any healthcare institution? And then the crazy thing is it even expands after that. Because usually, if a person feels isolated, their comfort is usually food. And then they go towards comfort foods, which usually are higher in fat, their products that are going to have a lot more harmful chemicals because they're they have a lot of preservatives. Those are usually the comfort food types of things. And then to take it even one more level deeper, if they felt stigmatized with their doctor and everything that happened in that setting, a lot of times they're less inclined to go to the gym or go outside because they're afraid of what people are looking at them as when they are exercising. So it's um it roots deep in somebody.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, most definitely. And you know, again, I experienced these with some of my clients, right? That maybe they go um to the doctor or to the clinic or whatever, and they they don't want to go, right? Because they know that they're gonna take their weight and they're already nervous as it is. Uh and so, but you know, I I think as patients, right, we have the right to say, you know what, I don't feel comfortable with you taking my weight today. Or if you do, please don't show me, right? Or ask the provider to not tell me or talk to me about my weight, right? Because it's not that they don't know about it. Uh you know, there's so many factors that contribute to it, right? Either one, you know, a lower weight, lower BMI, or a higher weight, regardless um which which size it is. But the other thing too that is so impactful is that oftentimes they might it might lead to delayed diagnoses, right, or poor health outcomes. And so if, you know, it happens more often with maybe someone that is at a bigger size. Malnutrition can still happen, you know, for someone that is maybe in a bigger body. And so that could be, you know, a delay diagnosis, but also, you know, eating disorders, right, or disorder eating. Oftentimes they don't see, oh, this person has an eating disorder because maybe they're in a bigger body, right? Or the other way around, right? Okay, this person is maybe in a smaller body, they have an eating disorder, right? Not necessarily.

SPEAKER_01:

No. I can tell you, uh personally, this was about five years ago. And it's when I was getting my PhD in biomedical science at that time. I had been diagnosed with celiac. My weight, I was very malnourished. And I have actually, I've walked up the street and someone has uh come out to me and said, Are you bulimic? And I'm like, No, and you have no idea what I'm going through or what I'm trying to accomplish as far as my weight and things like that. And other individuals have encountered things like, and I have too, just comments like, Why don't you just go eat a cheeseburger? Just go eat a milkshake. Well, I can't have a cheeseburger. It'll make me sick. I'll lose more weight in the same way with a milkshake because I'm not able to properly digest that. And people don't understand that and then mean comments with usually individuals that are very thin, especially females, you lose some of your curvature. So I've heard people even say things like, dogs are meant for bones, or sorry, bones, dogs are the only ones that love bones. How how cruel, how hurtful, and how does that that's not gonna help that person in any way, shape, or form gain weight, especially with me where it's a disorder. It's I'm having to figure out different things, and your comment is not helping. In fact, it's hurting, it's making me feel isolated. So I've obviously have overcome that now and I've been able to get on track with my diet and now I'm passionate about helping others.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah, most definitely. And I think it's so important for you know people to understand that we have absolutely no right to talk about someone's weight, right? Because we have no idea what they're going through, regardless, you know, of their size. Um, and I think, you know, yesterday we kind of mentioned that, right? Like what if someone, even if in a bigger body, right, they have been working so hard, you know, and they're getting healthier and they're going exercising or just getting healthier overall, these comments can really damage that person, right? Because they're already having going through that. And so I think it's important for the listeners and anyone else, right, to understand that we have absolutely no right to comment on anyone's weight, right? Because it's even if we think that it's helpful, right? Or even if we think that it's something positive, we we don't know how the person is going to take that comment, right? So it's better to just keep it just general, neutral, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And you can ask how the person is doing, you know, or you feel that, you know, how is your life? And if they mention stress and things like that, you can help them in that sort of way if they desire to have that help. But you just, you never know what a person is going through until you take a day in their shoes and actually experience it. And it's interesting. Statistics have actually researched individuals that have been talked to in a positive manner and basically had coaching done instead of being like, you need to lose weight. You need to go just, I mean, in simple comments, but it's what you hear from a doctor all the time. You need to fix your diet, you need to uh exercise more, you know, change what you're eating. Those general comments that aren't personalized, that usually does nothing. And especially if it's hurtful, there are very few cases where that causes an individual to feel just automatically motivated and let's go to the gym. No, it's the exact opposite.

SPEAKER_00:

So we have to think about those things. Yes, absolutely. And um, I think also with the accessibility of social media and just culture, I think that also doesn't help right way bias. And so what what are your insights on that?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, it's actually interesting. I've done a presentation on this before, and I was trying to display even I talked about the education setting and in college, and we we actually still see it in college that college students that are thinner or more athletic are less inclined to work with somebody who is potentially overweight or obese. They feel that they're not as intelligent, they're not gonna work as hard just because of their size, and that's not true. But anyway, I was trying to uh put pictures and stuff in my presentation. Would you believe that in a I was trying to search Google for free picks, I could not find one picture of a college advertisement that has somebody above normal size. So that just shows you, literally in the media, yeah, that that is not something that we present as being okay or desirable if it's being put out on commercials and social media.

SPEAKER_00:

Just interest. It is very interesting. And I'm almost curious to see if like maybe in other countries is the same, right? Or if just here the US that is more like so emphasized, right? Like size. Um, but yeah, I'm curious. So hopefully I have some listeners from other countries that can tell me this information.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I can say I did look at studies from a couple of other countries that were close to England, and they were talking about more of implicit bias there. And within nine to eleven year olds, and it was the same sort of thing. Now, when you go outside of basically, you know, England and people that are more like the American culture, I'm not sure. So that would be really great if we could get some insight on that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, most definitely. And we kind of talked about right how internalizing web way bias really affects the person. And so um, what are some of the the thoughts right that come to mind that maybe someone that is internalizing, you know, that way bias um come to mind? Like, what are what are some of the words that um they c they think of?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So a lot of times people that are experiencing that type of prejudice say that they feel lonely, they feel depressed, they feel more anxious and nervous being around people because they feel like they're constantly judged, especially when they go in a restaurant or with friends or like, ooh, are they gonna judge me for what I'm eating or if I eat a salad or they're gonna make fun of me? They also tend to have a very low self-esteem about themselves. They really internalize that their weight means everything and it defines them. So that leads to poor body image. Sometimes they just they give up and they stop taking care of themselves. And eventually, especially we note that when this starts in childhood, unless they get mental help um from a mental health care provider, uh, it just keeps getting worse and it can lead to suicidal behavior. We actually see quite a bit of that in as you would expect, the teenage years. When a lot of things are going on, they're putting pressure on themselves. What do I look like? The dating scene, all of that. So especially when it starts in childhood, that can build for a very long time if no one takes the time to recognize it and help those individuals. It's not just that age group, but that's a very critical time period.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, most definitely. And it is heartbreaking, you know, to see that and you know, to hear that from like several of my clients. You know, I've I've struggled with these all my whole life, right? And like I haven't received the help or um I hate going out, right? Or hate going out to eat with friends because I don't want to feel XYZ. And perhaps these may be rules that, you know, uh, or thoughts, intrusive thoughts that are coming to mind. And it might not be the case, right? But for them, it's so internalized that it exists. And so it affects them physically, mentally. And so because they've been through it for so long, they don't really recognize, okay, this is not healthy. How can we help you to, you know, get through this trauma essentially? And so I am definitely a high um, I always encourage my patients to work with a therapist, the ones that of course are willing and needed, because it's going to help them significantly, right? And so, yeah, thinking about that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and then another piece of it is, and I'm not sure why America it's especially I of course I've only lived in America, and so I see it across the US. But in general, society points to thinness equals rich, equals happiness, equals healthy. And I can tell you it absolutely does not. When I was at my lowest of lows, I felt miserable. I felt stigmatized. I felt somewhat alone. It was kind of depressing for a while because it did take a long time for me to figure out, okay, what foods can I eat without getting sick? What's actually going to be absorbed? Of course, my intestines also had to heal from celiac disease to actually start absorbing everything. And I'll tell you, skinny did not equal happy. And I had some people be like, oh, but you should be so happy. I'm like, no, I'm weak. I feel like I can't do very much. This is not happiness. This is miserable.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah, most definitely. Because body weight alone does not tell us how someone eats, right? How active they are, their metabolic health, right, their behavioral habits. And so we have to, and I and I love this being able to do this in in my practice, right? That we see the person as a whole, right? You're not coming to me just for nutrition, right? Just to figure out how to eat, right? It's truly understanding, you know, what are the factors that maybe are affecting the way that you eat, right? Or your behaviors. And like how can we together, right, how can we make some of those changes to make long-term and sustainable change.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And I think a lot of times it's really not weight that's the root of it. It's feeling comfortable when your body and what you're doing. Are you proud of yourself? Weight should not define that. It's literally just a little number on a scale that can change literally by how much salt you take in in one day. Because that water weight can impact so much. And you have people that um it's okay if someone is like this, but you know, we we can try to work to move past it. But weighing yourself every few hours or every single day, you know, it doesn't matter. It's just a number. It doesn't tell you your character, your abilities, your intellect, anything like that. It is just a number. It can be used to help measure our health, but people are made in all different shapes and sizes. And then as we mentioned before, there are certain conditions. So just exercising more or changing your diet, it may not help depending on what that is. I think it's really important that especially healthcare providers understand that there can be something going on more than just the surface level. So you have to be careful with stereotyping and dig deeper to figure out how we can actually help that person.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah, absolutely. So it's brings us to what can we do differently, right? What are some of the actionable takeaways that can really help us? And so um, I'll I'll let you give us some of the first and then I'll chime in.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I think one thing that we can do is sometimes we don't realize that we have any sort of bias towards anybody. So I know Harvard, and I can send you the link, Leo, if you want to put it up with the podcast, but they have an IAT weight bias quiz. And I think that taking that, yeah, I mean, you have to take it with a grain of salt. It's just a quiz. But I think it can help you recognize do I feel certain ways towards certain individuals? There have been some studies where they took quotes from different doctors, and it was kind of surprising. Some of them were like, I don't really like to treat obese individuals. There was even some nurses that said, I don't like to touch obese individuals. Now, I hope that they recognize that's not good and that they they have some bias and prejudice, but um, I think individuals sometimes don't realize maybe even expressions that they give, because it's not always words, it's how you act towards an individual, how you treat them, your facial expression. So understanding your implicit bias can be a first step. Because once you recognize if you're biased towards something, then you can take steps and okay, how can I change the way that I view or where did this come from? And I think that that can help you. And that's gonna stem to help other individuals because you're not taking those sorts of actions or making those expressions or saying those things anymore. So that's one thing.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, most definitely. Thank you for bringing that up, right? And yeah, I think adding that link to the show notes will help so people can take a look at that. Some other things, right, uh like shifting the language. So instead of saying good or bad, it's just neutral, right? Or instead of like, oh, I'm eating so clean or I'm eating so good, um, I'm gonna do a cheat meal. Yeah. So it's like really those words that you're like, ooh, I don't know if that is healthy, right? And like in that mental health state. Um, this is something that I work with my clients, right? It's like food is just food, right? When we when we put food into categories, now we're letting those categories like take control of our choices, right? And oftentimes we put the foods that we enjoy, right, that we like on the bad category. And now when you do want something from the bad category, you're like, man, I'm being bad. And so like we have to steer away from all that, right? Because this is what's gonna help us, right? In our in our own way, biases too.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I think that all dietitians, I would hope, would recognize that you know, all things in moderation. We can have a little bit of everything. In fact, people that eliminate whole food groups, especially out of their diet, that's not a healthy type of thing. You're likely gonna start lacking in some micronutrients there, which can have detrimental effects. I know one of the things that I like to think about, I learned this a while back, but instead of saying cheat meal, I'm gonna have a treat. You know, that's a good thing. Having a treat, you know, you're gonna reward yourself, but it's only for a time period. It doesn't go on. We're gonna enjoy it to its fullest, and then we'll go on and we can have another treat at some other time. It's not going away. It's not like it's the last time we can ever have a treat. But I think that's a lot better to say than a cheat meal. Because as you said, cheating sounds bad. Cheating is bad. So let's not label it like that. Let's reward ourselves every once in a while when we're making stuff. Steps forward.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah. Absolutely. So yeah, moving from, you know, more so and more because our thoughts play a huge role. So when we shift that mindset, right, when we shift those words, and it creates more of a positive environment versus like always thinking about why should XYZ, right? Or I shouldn't do whatever. Versus like, you know, celebrating the wins first of all. And like just changing that language too.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And then just a few other things. I know that in educational settings as well as in medical offices, another thing that can be done, especially in medical office, well, it's a school setting too, but making sure that there are seats that are going to fit people of smaller stature and larger stature in a medical office. Make sure that you have a scale that you're not taking them to the basement, to the freight to weigh them. I mean, I just understand there are accounts of doctors doing that and then saying basically, Well, I can't help you, you did it to yourself. What? How is that even going anything along with the Hippocratic oath or any other oath that they've taken as a medical doctor to help individuals? Take them where they are and bring them up. Um, making sure we have the correct sizes of blood pressure cuffs, and then all the way to the waiting room. It's not just medical doctors. Sometimes it's people that are assisting with signing people in. Those individuals can have a huge impact on whether that patient feels even comfortable walking into the office. What type of magazines are out there? Are there magazines with all different sizes, or we just have like, you know what I mean, stick models that are on all of the magazines? All of those types of things can impact how comfortable a f a person feels coming into a medical office or coming into an education setting. How are teachers displaying even artwork and things like that? Do we have it to where it's diverse? Another super crazy thing that I need to mention is, you know, we have laws against racial discrimination, against gender. Did you know there are no laws at all whatsoever regarding around bias towards individuals' size and individuals' weight? No, I didn't know that. That's crazy. I mean, I can I can understand, but I kind of hope that something like that comes into play. We do have a lot of medical facilities doing zero tolerance policies now for any sort of weight bias. So I think we're moving in the right direction, but it's getting everybody on board and really seeing the impact that it can have on someone and the words that we use, just like you mentioned, shifting that individual's thoughts to more positive things and moving them in a positive direction versus beating them down.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Thank you. This is really important, right? That because we want to make sure that the environment where they come in, right, it's safe for them. And it does start as soon as they walk in, right? How are they, how are they seen? Um, how comfortable do they feel? And it's interesting because I've had clients again that have told me, you know, um, when I go in and maybe there's someone else, you know, they're a smaller size than me, uh, and they get greeted differently versus when I come in, right? And in it maybe you don't see that, but I think this is again, it brings back to you like, okay, recognize your own biases, right? Because they can show up. You might not say anything, right? But your expression, right, your non-verbal cues are showing it. So I think it's important to recognize that too. Uh, because, you know, it's uh the this person, right, is already going through it uh and it's has a hard time, right? So we we need to make sure that they're not also seeing it, right? Feeling it when they go into our into a different environment.

SPEAKER_01:

And having that change of an environment can really change their world. Maybe in all the pat all their past appointments and things they have always felt stigmatized against, but then they walk into a new medical facility. Hi, how are you? You know, how can I help you? And, you know, how's your day been going? Do you do you need anything while you're sitting and waiting? Those types of things, treating them like you would any other individual. And I think if people have trouble with bias, not to overdo it, but imagine that this person is like your new boss or something like that, just to help you to get away from being demeaning, essentially.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I have a uh really good client of mine, and she has a PhD, right? Uh, and she's African-American. And so she's like, every time I go to the doctor, right? And like I'm signing my papers, and like always something happens, right? And so she's like, My mom has told me, just put doctor. Uh, and she's like, I don't have to do that, right? Because I don't want them to just see that word and like treat me differently, right? They shouldn't be treating people the same. It doesn't matter if you're a doctor or you're not, but it is because it has happened to her so much that now she knows how to cope with it, right? She knows how to deal with it. But that, you know, that in itself is horrible. As she mentioned, it should be, it shouldn't be the case, right? Not because you're seeing me being different, like you're treating me differently too.

SPEAKER_01:

It is funny though, because like I've I'm pretty small stature. You can't tell on here, but I'm 4'11. And when I go to camp, church camp, I look like one of the kids or potentially one of the young junior counselors. Most of the kids think that I'm just a junior counselor or I'm another camper. And so they'll be talking to me and stuff, and then someone will mention something like she's she's a counselor, and they're like, What? And then later they find that I have a doctorate. And the change and how they perceive me and how they treat me is so different. And I mean, that's just a little title. You know what I mean? But most people, I've actually similar to your client at school, they call me Dr. Amos, but at church, there's a lot of people that don't even know that I have a doctorate because I don't publicize that because I will be treated differently. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And in a way, it's good. You know, you earned it, and you're like, I earned it. So it's to be celebrated for sure. Yeah. Um, okay, so as we are closing, right? What are some of the words that maybe you want the listeners to know, or maybe our listeners that have gone through, you know, way bias that you want them to know?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, sure. I think uh one thing that we always want to consider is as I mentioned before, you never know what a person is going through until you take a day in their shoes. So I think treating all people just as a normal individual, don't base it on size. Listen to their voice, listen to what they have to say, be curious about who they are and what they like. Um, and then from there, treat them and treat them in that way. Treat them um to the highest degree better than you would even yourself. And also remember that people are watching. Like those little three-year-olds, how did they ever develop any bias without seeing it? That was not born within them. So it makes me think of the starfish story where there was a little boy walking on the seashore and he was throwing starfish into the sea. And an older man came by and he said, What are you doing? And little boy was like, I'm saving the starfish and throwing them into the sea. And the old man said, You'll never, you know, that doesn't even matter. You're saving very few. Look at all the starfish that are on the sea. And little boy picks up one, throws it into the ocean, and said, Well, it mattered to that one. And I think if we have that attitude and treating every individual as it matters to them, other people will also see that. We we want to be the we want to act as the change that we want the world to be. So I think starting today is a great day.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, absolutely. Thank you. Those are amazing words. Yeah. And just to finish with that, right, just remember that your body is not a moral issue, right? Your health is not defined by a number on the scale. And so you do this for respectful evidence-based care at every size, at any size, right? So um, if you are not getting that, right, is you have the absolute right to go somewhere else. Right. Find someone in somewhere where you feel safe and comfortable and where you get the care that you do need.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I completely agree. And they are out there. So just because you strike out with one and somebody maybe they were on they weren't very knowledgeable on the topic. Don't let that uh negate you from going to see a doctor and getting the help that you need because you do deserve it, just like Liam mentioned.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. Absolutely. So if this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it, especially, you know, someone that uh is struggling with that or has said, or you see that they have weight bias, or a friend navigating, you know, their own relationship with food and body image. Thank you for being here, and I'll see you in the in the next episode of Simple Nutrition Insights. Thank you, Dr. Amos.