In this issue:

• Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2025

• Introducing the New MSSI Leadership Team

• Resources for Anti Weight Bias Advocacy as a Medical Student 

• Evidence-Based Archives

• Find us on Instagram!

---

Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2025

Eating Disorder Awareness Week generally takes place at the end of February around the world, and February 24-March 2 this year in the US. We know that through open, supportive dialogue, we, as medical students, can help break the shame and silence that affect the millions of people living with an eating disorder; and the millions of others who are struggling with food and weight preoccupation. 

Eating Disorder Awareness Week is a time to raise awareness about eating disorders, their impact and to shed light on the dangerous and pervasive myths that surround them. It is a time of year when folks can learn more about eating disorders and about the resources that are available for individuals and family members who are impacted by them.

At MSSI, we firmly believe that size inclusion and fat liberation are key components of ED advocacy.

If you’re currently struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating yourself, please know that support is available to you. There are many ways to get the help you need, from free groups to treatment and much more. Check out some of our preferred resources from Project HEAL.

Get involved:

1. Join the conversation! When sharing content during this week, use the hashtag #EDAW or #EDAW2025.

2. Post and distribute ANAD’s shareable images.

3. Support Project HEAL’s fundraiser to increase access to eating disorder care.

4. Browse body-safe and Health at Every Size® (HAES) books and resources for patients, family and clinicians on eating disorder recovery and healing. This list compiled by Lindley at Body Liberation Photos is wonderful.

---

Introducing the New MSSI Leadership Team!

This year marks an exciting transition for Medical Students for Size Inclusivity (MSSI) as we celebrate over 20 of our members graduating medical school and moving on to residency! Our alumni have been instrumental in advocating for weight-inclusive healthcare, and we know they will continue to champion this work in their future practices.

With this transition, we are thrilled to introduce our new leadership team, a passionate group of medical students dedicated to continuing MSSI’s mission. As we step into this next chapter, we look forward to expanding our advocacy efforts, growing our community, and pushing for change in medical education and patient care. Stay tuned for updates on our initiatives, upcoming events, and ways to get involved!

Co-Directors

• Jessica Rosenblum, Tufts University School of Medicine, Class of 2027

• Anna Wengyn, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Class of 2027

Secretary

• April Ascher, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Class of 2028

Director of Chapters & Affiliates

• Samantha Temucin, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Class of 2026

Director of Community Education & Engagement

• Taylor Lees, University of Minnesota Medical School, Class of 2026

Newsletter Co-Chairs

• Sophie Lalonde-Bester, University of Alberta Medical School, Class of 2026

• Jay Liu, Stanford University School of Medicine, Class of 2026

Research – Student Lead

• Joe Morrison, UC Davis School of Medicine, Class of 2031 (MD/PhD)

Curriculum/Education – Student Lead

• Abigail Fraust, Drexel University College of Medicine

Advocacy – Student Leads

• Jackie Liu, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2027

• Marisa Langton, Drexel University College of Medicine, Class of 2026

---

Resources for Anti Weight Bias Advocacy as a Medical Student

Are you a medical student or related health professions student interested in advocating for size inclusive care and education at your school? Here are some resources you might find helpful!

Jessica Mui, MSSI President and MS-4 at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, has created a 30-minute video, presentation, and resource list for medical students.

---

Evidence-Based Archives

MSSI is excited to present our seventh installment of “Evidence-Based Archives,” our monthly column highlighting and summarizing seminal research in the field of size-inclusive healthcare. In this section, we hope to celebrate our scholars, empower each other with knowledge, and stock up on citations for the next time we’re called upon to justify size-inclusive healthcare in the classroom, clinic or wards!

Content warning: Medicalized fatphobia, ob*sity, anti-fat language

Disclaimer: We use the terms “ob*sity” and “overw*ight” in our summaries when it is otherwise impossible to accurately describe findings from certain studies, due to the language and descriptors chosen by researchers. We acknowledge the inaccuracies and harms that these labels have perpetuated in medicine and society. Please keep your mental health in mind when reading, and feel free to reach out to us with any feedback or suggestions at any time!

This month’s highlight

Tylka et. al’s 2014 systematic review aims to:

(1) Define an medical ethics argument in favor of size-inclusive care

(2) Outline a theoretical framework to help guide size-inclusive research efforts and help health professionals intervene within their patients and community.

While this article is getting older, it’s readability and broad coverage makes it a good one to send to colleagues or patients who may be curious about HAES or size-inclusive care and want to learn more, or even as a refresher article for those of us who have been working in the size-inclusive space for some time. Kudos for getting an article about size-inclusive care into J of Ob*sity!

Comparing the Weight-Inclusive to the Weight-Normative Approach to Health
The first part of Tylka et. al’s article compares a “weight-inclusive” approach to the “weight-normative” approach. For someone new to these concepts and the landmark published research in this space, this is a really readable general overview.

The “weight-normative” approach is defined as one in which “weight is a main determinant of health,” and assigns “personal responsibility for ‘healthy lifestyle choices’ and the maintenance of ‘healthy weights.’” On the basis of these beliefs, the weight-normative approach focuses on weight loss and weight management to prevent and treat a myriad of health problems.

Tylka et. al explains why the “weight-normative” approach is not evidence-based healthcare. They touch on several very important topics including mortality data that reflects longer lifespans for individuals with BMIs between 30-35, correlation vs. causation in weight-based research, weight stigma, social determinants of health, inefficacy of weight-management programs, dangers of weight-cycling, and associations between dieting and the development of eating disorders. One point we really liked was a short but effective explanation of why “you’ve lost weight…looking good!” is in fact NOT a compliment!!

In contrast, the “weight-inclusive” paradigm is defined as one in which “every body is capable of achieving health and well-being independent of weight, given access to non-stigmatizing health care.” In the “weight-inclusive approach, “weight is not viewed as a behavior, but eating nutritious food when hungry…and engaging in pleasurable (and thus more sustainable) exercise are self-care behaviors that can be made more accessible for people.”

The Ethical Argument for Weight-Inclusive Care
As the “weight-normative” approach to healthcare has been implicated in significant detrimental consequences to physical health and well-being, including but not limited to weight stigma, Tylka et. al argues that far from being a radical approach to healthcare, the “weight-inclusive” approach is actually more conservative and best upholds the preeminent ethical imperatives of beneficence and non-maleficence: “Above all, do no harm.”

A Theoretical Framework for Engaging in Weight-Inclusive Care
Tylka et. al proposes the following theoretical framework for understanding and conceptually organizing principles that are foundational to several weight-inclusive care models, including HAES (Health At Every Size) and PAES (Physical Activity at Every Size). They identify that the practice of weight-inclusive care extends beyond the clinic space towards both the political and personal. We appreciated the reminder that becoming a size-inclusive practitioner is a journey – one that involves not only changing and challenging our systemic and institutional policies, but also how we think about and take care of our own bodies!

Additional examples of how to translate weight-inclusive principles into weight-inclusive care are included in an accompanying table. Tylka et. al’s suggestions are good starting points for challenging weight-centric care in clinical practice; however, specific interventions or instructions on how to conduct sensitive conversations with patients are left up to the reader to figure out.

Luckily, we have an active member’s support forum at AWSIM that’s bringing together great minds to discuss how to approach particularly challenging patient encounters! HAES Health Sheets is another excellent starting point to understand how to talk to patients about specific health conditions that often trigger conversations about weight. The Health Sheets are a really nice tool to have available in the clinic as educational resources for patients. (As a busy med student, I’ve totally referred patients to the Health Sheets when they confessed experiencing shame or weight stigma under the care of a weight-centric practitioner!)

The Statistical Argument for Weight-Inclusive Care
Tylka et. al ends this article with a summary of research that supports overwhelmingly positive physical and mental health outcomes for patients managed under the “weight-inclusive” approach, including the RCT that compared outcomes of a HAES patient education program to a weight-loss program (featured in last month’s Evidence-Based Archives!). Additional topics discussed (and supported by evidence-based research) include size-inclusive clinic environments, weight-inclusive programming as eating disorder prevention, appearance-monitoring and body loathing as indicators of reduced engagement in self-care, and the importance of body neutrality in public health messaging.

Much of the current resistance to transitioning to a weight-inclusive paradigm for care, Tylka et. al observes, is rooted in a current policy landscape dominated by over-reliance on powerful institutions, such as the World Health Organization, which has resulted in an uncritical acceptance and maintenance of the weight-normative status quo without adequate scrutinization of its validity, effectiveness, or ethical implications.

Happily, Tylka et. al notes, studies demonstrate that even short antiweight bias training can lead to significant decreases in antifat prejudice, decreased internalization of media stereotypes on weight and shape, and increased self-efficacy for addressing weight bias among public health professionals.

Conclusion
Tylka et. al’s work is a great introduction to the realm of size-inclusive care. While other systemic reviews have been published since 2014, we think that the case Tylka makes for size-inclusive care as an ethical imperative makes this older article worth revisiting.

Thoughts?

We are open to feedback and interested in the lived experiences of our MSSI members. Have you referenced this article in your clinical work, used it to guide patient counseling, or used it to communicate with your colleagues? How did it go? 

Feel free to share your stories, reflections, expertise, and advice using the links below. With your permission, we may publish reflections in future installments of this column.

If you have a favorite article you’d like us to highlight in our next installment, feel free to submit it for consideration, also by using the link below! We look forward to hearing from you!

---

Find us on social media!

Instagram post by @sizeinclusivemedicine

This newsletter was authored by MSSI members Jay Liu (Stanford University) and Sophie Lalonde-Bester (University of Alberta).