In this issue:

• Attention Medical Students — Start a MSSI Chapter At Your School!

• Book Recommendation: Weight-Inclusive Menopause Care

• Featured Research Article: Addressing Weight Stigma in Medical Education

• Upcoming AWSIM Events

Attention Medical Students! Interested in Starting a MSSI Chapter at your School?

Congratulations to all the first-year medical students who are starting their medical school journey this summer! If you are passionate about weight-inclusive medicine but don’t see it represented in your school’s student organizations or curriculum, consider starting a chapter of MSSI at your school!

Click below to 1) form a chapter of Medical Students for Size Inclusivity (MSSI) at your school, or 2) affiliate an existing organization at your school with MSSI. Once received, a member of MSSI will reach out with additional details, and our Chapter & Affiliate Application form! 

Current Chapters & Affiliates:

• MSSI at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

• MSSI at University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Medical School (@mssi_umn)

• Health Professional Students for Size Inclusivity, an Affiliate of MSSI at University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

• Size Inclusivity in Medicine at University of Wisconsin – School of Medicine and Public Health, an Affiliate of MSSI

• MSSI at Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine

• MSSI at Tufts University School of Medicine

• MSSI at University of Nevada Reno SOM

• MSSI at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

• MSSI at Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University (@mssi_netter)

• Medical and Dental Students for Size Inclusivity at Harvard Medical School, an Affiliate of MSSI

• Columbia Students for Size Inclusivity, An Affiliate of MSSI

• MSSI at University of Washington School of Medicine

• MSSI at UC Davis School of Medicine

• MSSI at Albany Medical College

• MSSI at University of British Columbia

• Students for Body Acceptance and Food Freedom (SBAFF) at Oregon Health & Science University, An Affiliate of MSSI

• MSSI at University of Colorado School of Medicine

• MSSI at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

• MSSI at University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine

Book Recommendation: A Woman's Guide to Menopause, Body Image, and Emotional Well-being at Midlife by Signe Darpinian

Perimenopause and menopause are often accompanied by changes in weight and body composition, mood, and overall health—changes that diet culture frequently frames as problems to be "fixed" through weight loss.

In her new book, A Woman’s Guide to Menopause, Body Image, and Emotional Well-being at Midlife, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) Signe Darpinian equips readers with strategies to navigate menopause through a weight-inclusive lens. Incorporating guidance from Menopause Society Certified Practitioners (MSCPs) and registered dietitians, as well real-life stories from individuals with a range of experiences, Darpinian addresses topics including common menopausal symptoms, body changes, mood and sleep difficulties, and sexual health. This book empowers readers to understand the physical and psychological changes that happen during menopause and advocate for themselves with healthcare professionals to achieve their own individualized version of well-being throughout the menopause transition.

Featured Research Article: “Addressing Weight Stigma in Medical Education: Insights and Strategies From a Nutrition Curriculum Review”

In a recent article published in the Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, Anna Harleen and colleagues analyzed prerecorded lectures from the nutrition curriculum at a large US medical school and identified common themes related to weight stigma found in course materials. Using these themes, the authors propose strategies to help educators create lectures that respect patients of all body sizes and reflect an evidence-based approach to the relationship between weight and medical conditions.

Five Themes of Weight Stigma found in Medical School Lectures:

1. Stigmatizing terminology and imagery:

   1. Unnecessarily negative language to describe obesity (ie, “grim”, “crisis”, “suffer with obesity”)

   2. Terminology such as “the obese” and “chunky kid”

   3. Photographs that depict people with larger bodies in dehumanizing ways

2. Assumptions regarding the controllability of weight

   1. Implication that obesity is due to personal decisions and/or actions (ie, “if you are going to be obese” and patients with obesity making the “right” choices)

   2. Description of weight loss as a “mental game”

3. Judgments about the behavior and health status of higher-weight patients

   1. Terminology such as “overeating” or “unmotivated”

   2. Comparison between having a larger body and “watching too much TV”

4. Overemphasis on the role of weight in overall health

   1. Imprecision with definitions (ie, use of “obesity” interchangeably with other health conditions such as diabetes)

   2. Suggestion that weight loss inherently results in improved well-being (ie, “patients are much healthier and happier as a result”)

   3. Assumption that obesity and fitness are oppositional

5. Statements that uphold socially constructed body ideals and moralize food/eating

   1. Creation of right/wrong dichotomy in the discussion of the “right” foods to be eating (ie, “crappy foods”, “right” choices)

   2. Promotion of thinness or weight loss as inherently healthy, better, happier, virtuous (ie, “better body”, “ideal body weight”)

Strategies to Reduce Weight Stigma in Medical Education:

1. Use neutral, precise language and avoid dehumanizing terms.

   1. Examples of neutral nonstigmatizing language to describe larger bodies include “higher-weight”, “larger-bodied”, “higher end of the weight spectrum”, and “person of size”.

2. Challenge weight-based assumptions and stereotypes

   1. Acknowledge the genetic, environmental, and social determinants of weight.

   2. Discuss challenges associated with weight loss maintenance such as decreased energy expenditure and weight cycling.

   3. Acknowledge the impact of weight stigma on health and healthcare (for example, research has shown that physicians provide suboptimal care to patients in larger bodies).

3. Emphasize multifactorial determinants of health.

   1. Discuss the physical and psychological risks associated with intentional weight loss and the importance of informed consent with respect to weight loss, including offering alternatives (ie, evidence-based treatments that would be provided to thinner patients).

   2. When presenting correlational data on obesity and disease risk, discuss key confounders such as physical activity and social determinants of health. Acknowledge health benefits of behavior change independent of body size.

   3. Discuss the history and limitations of the Body Mass Index (BMI).

4. Avoid reinforcing body ideals and moralizing food choices.

   1. Discuss the cultural and historical context of weight and dieting, including diet culture and racialized body ideals.

   2. Mitigate eating disorder triggers by using third-person language ("ie, “when research participants performed intermittent fasting) instead of second-person language (ie, “when you do intermittent fasting”).

5. Use content warnings when discussing potentially distressing weight-related topics.

   1. Focus on the impact of the content rather than the intent. For example, “Weight stigma is pervasive in medicine and, although we are working to mitigate stigma in the curriculum, this content may contain bias and we welcome any feedback”.

Are you a student or educator working to reduce weight stigma in your school’s curriculum? MSSI has a Lecture Analysis Tool designed to help you evaluate lectures for weight bias and identify areas for improvement.

Upcoming AWSIM Events!

AWSIM x WIDIC: When Weight Bias Shapes Reproductive Care
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
5:00–6:15 PM PT / 8:00–9:15 PM ET
Panelists: Dr. Naomi Busch, Dr. Anna Whelan, Simone Samuels, and Sarah O’Hara, RD

A live virtual panel exploring how weight-centered assumptions shape reproductive health care and what clinicians can do differently. Free for AWSIM members, WIDIC (Weight Inclusive Dietitians in Canada) members, and students.

Save the Date! AWSIM Fall Symposium 2026
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
10:00 AM–2:00 PM PT / 1:00–5:00 PM ET
More details coming soon!

This newsletter was authored by MSSI member Megan Coolahan (Tufts University School of Medicine).