Physicians tend to rely on diagnostic criteria, including BMI, that can influence patients’ access to care, referrals, and insurance coverage for indicated interventions.
AMA J Ethics. 2023; 25(7):E507-513. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.507.
Underlying ideological foundations of stigma and equipment inadequacy include thin-centrism and inadequate representation of fat people in health care organizational leadership.
AMA J Ethics. 2023; 25(7):E528-534. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.528.
Size-based health and beauty ideals emanated from eugenic pseudoscientific postulates, and BMI continues to advance white supremacist embodiment norms.
AMA J Ethics. 2023; 25(7):E535-539. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.535.
Diagnostic utility of weight and body mass index is widely overestimated, and their use as health and wellness measures can be sources of iatrogenic harm.
AMA J Ethics. 2023; 25(7):E540-544. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.540.
Lydia Smeltz, Susan M. Havercamp, PhD, and Lisa Meeks, PhD, MA
Lack of disability-competent health care contributes to inequitable health outcomes for persons with disabilities, the largest minoritized population in the world.
AMA J Ethics. 2024; 26(1):E54-61. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2024.54.