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May 2026 Newsletter
Medical Students for Size Inclusivity
May 01, 2026
In this issue:
Contact Form for Graduating Members
Introducing the 2026-2027 MSSI Leadership Team!
MSSI Featured in “Diet Culture Rebel” Podcast
Featured Article: “GLP-1 medications for weight-loss: a triumph of marketing over patient care”
NAAFA Research Scholarship
Upcoming AWSIM Events
ATTENTION 2026 Graduates — Please complete this form!
Congratulations to MSSI’s Class of 2026! If you are graduating medical school this year, please complete this form so we can stay in contact with you! Thank you for your contributions to advancing the movement of size inclusive medicine.
Introducing the 2026-2027 MSSI Leadership Team!
Last month, we celebrated our graduating members of MSSI who are finishing medical school and moving on to residency. We’re now excited to introduce the MSSI leadership team for the 2026-2027 year! We look forward to expanding our advocacy efforts, strengthening our community, and advancing meaningful change in medical education and patient care.
We invited our leadership team to share their favorite part of being involved in MSSI—read on to hear their perspectives!
 | Director: Jessica Rosenblum, Tufts University School of Medicine Class of 2027 “MSSI has been one of the highlights of my medical school journey — every time I switch to an MSSI task from studying, it allows me to stretch different parts of my brain and think deeply about the kind of doctor I want to become. It gives special meaning and purpose to the sometimes draining day-to-day of medical school. I am inspired every time I take part in an MSSI event — I always leave feeling more energized and more purposeful than when the event started. Grateful to everyone in this community!” |
 | Secretary: April Ascher, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Class of 2028 “My passion for size-inclusive medicine stems from recognizing how weight bias can negatively impact patient care, leading to missed diagnoses and diminished trust. Through my involvement in Medical Students for Size Inclusivity, I strive to provide compassionate, evidence-based care that prioritizes dignity and recognizes health as multifactorial rather than defined by body size.” |
 | Director of Chapters and Affiliates: Jillian Rhodes, Tufts University School of Medicine, Class of 2028 “MSSI provides me with a community of passionate people who, like me, are committed to a medical field free of anti-fat bias. I enjoy learning from my peers in MSSI and appreciate the opportunity to work together to amplify the field of size inclusive medicine.” |
 | Co-Director of Communications: Andrea Albano, Tufts University School of Medicine, Class of 2028 “My favorite thing about MSSI is our community! I always feel re-inspired and full of energy after being in a space with like-minded, passionate, amazing people doing incredible work for fat liberation.” |
 | Co-Director of Communications: Megan Coolahan, Tufts University School of Medicine Class of 2028 “My favorite part of being involved in MSSI is learning from the incredible work my peers are doing to advance weight-inclusive care in medical education and clinical care. Every event inspires me to think more critically about how I can help my future patients to pursue their vision of health outside the constraints of weight stigma and diet culture.” |
 | Co-Chair of Curriculum and Education: Abigail Fraust, Drexel University College of Medicine, Class of 2027 “Participating in the MSSI community has transformed my desire for body acceptance and interest in holistic primary care into what I hope is a pillar of my future clinical practice. It has prompted me to reflect on my own beliefs, deepen my knowledge, and share that with others through the Curriculum committee. Also, it has sparked some interesting conversations with friends and family!” |
 | Co-Chair of Curriculum and Education: Divya Vemulapalli, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, Class of 2027 “My favorite part of being involved in MSSI is the sense of community. It’s truly invigorating to be surrounded by inspiring, passionate people from different medical schools and professions, all united by a shared commitment to improving how we learn, teach, and practice healthcare.” |
 | Co-Chair of Advocacy: Jackie Liu, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2027 “My favorite part about being in MSSI is the community that we share. Constantly fighting against anti-fat bias in medicine can be exhausting, so being able to meet and relate to other people who get it can be refreshing and rejuvenating. I also appreciate how we’re able to channel this energy into change.” |
 | Co-Chair of Advocacy: Karen Linares Quintos, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science College of Medicine, Class of 2029 “I leave every MSSI event inspired and motivated to eliminate weight bias in medicine. It’s empowering to know that medical students across the US and Canada believe everyone deserves quality healthcare, regardless of weight or body shape.” |
MSSI Featured on “Diet Culture Rebel” Podcast
MSSI’s Co-Chair of Advocacy, Jackie Liu, was featured on a recent episode of “Diet Culture Rebel,” a podcast hosted by registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Bonnie Roney. In the episode, Jackie explains key differences between weight-centric and weight-neutral healthcare, the effect of weight stigma on healthcare access, and strategies patients can use to advocate for themselves at medical appointments.
Click below for the link to the episode:
Featured Article: “GLP-1 medications for weight-loss: a triumph of marketing over patient care”
In a recent article published in Fat Studies, researchers Ragen Chastain, Angela Meadows, and Louise Adams critically evaluate the data on the safety and efficacy of GLP-1 agonists for weight loss and analyze the numerous conflicts of interest and instances of regulatory misconduct that have occurred in the marketing of these drugs.
Key points from the article:
How effective are GLP-1 agonists?
While the media portrays GLP-1 agonists as “miracle drugs” that produce drastic weight loss for the majority of people, the data tells a different story. In phase 3 clinical trials of semaglutide and tirzepatide, up to one-third of participants failed to lose 5% of their starting weight (a benchmark commonly used to define “clinically significant weight loss”) (Davies et al. 2021; Ryan et al. 2024).
Patients on GLP-1 agonists typically experience a plateau of weight loss after about 1 year of taking the medication, sometimes accompanied by a slight rebound in weight. In the 4-year SELECT trial on semaglutide, the authors claim that weight stabilized after 65 weeks of treatment. However, only 10.5% of patients in the treatment arm remained in the study at follow-up, suggesting that these claims overestimate long-term weight maintenance (Ryan et al. 2024).
In a 2023 press release, Novo Nordisk claimed that semaglutide reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 20% in “overweight” and “obese” adults. However, this 20% reduction is actually a relative risk reduction rather than an absolute risk reduction — 8% of patients in the placebo group had a cardiovascular event compared to 6.5% of patients on semaglutide (Lincoff et al. 2023). Furthermore, the study population was 72% male and 84% white, and statistically significant results were not seen in women or Black and Hispanic people.
The impact of dosing for weight loss
Weight-loss formulations of GLP-1 agonists are given at higher doses than diabetes formulations, magnifying side effects for patients.
In the 4-year SELECT trial of semaglutide, approximately 25% of participants could not tolerate the full 2.4mg dose for the duration of the study Ryan et al. 2024; (Lincoff et al. 2023, supplementary materials).
Common side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and dizziness can lead to severe dehydration requiring hospitalization if untreated (MHRA 2024).
GLP-1 agonists can interfere with absorption of other medications requiring stable blood concentrations, including anticonvulsants, psychotropics, and antihypertensives. They also impact absorption of medications with narrow therapeutic windows, such as warfarin, lithium, SSRIs, antipsychotics, and digoxin (Lilly 2025b; Novo Nordisk 2024).
The number of deaths attributed to GLP-1 agonists (Markey et al. 2025, FDA 2025) already exceeds that of earlier weight-loss drugs that were withdrawn due to safety concerns (Rodgers, Tschöp, and Wilding 2012).
Marketing “obesity”
Authors of the GLP-1 clinical trial publications work for the drug manufacturers or have accepted millions of dollars in payments from them (Chastain 2024a, 2024b, 2025)
Novo Nordisk has invested millions of dollars in creating research coalitions, lobbying organizations, and patient advocacy groups to promote their agenda of obesity as a chronic disease requiring lifelong treatment (Das and Ungoed-Thomas 2023).
Novo Nordisk has a long history of misconduct, including a two-year suspension from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry due to inappropriate marketing of liraglutide to healthcare providers (Mulinari, Pashley and Ozieranski 2024) and a $58.65 million fine from the FDA in 2010 for deliberately minimizing the risk of thyroid cancer in patients taking liraglutide (Mercedes 2021).
Call for Applications: NAAFA Research Scholarship
The National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is accepting applications for the Dr. Paul Ernsberger Research Scholarship until June 1, 2026. Scholarships are available for research graduate students within specified areas of concentration in scientific research, including nutrition and higher weight people, metabolic syndrome, weight cycling, medical harm from being obsessed with weight loss, and medical harm from the bias of physicians.
Upcoming AWSIM Events!
May 8, 2026: AWSIM First Annual Scientific & Member Assembly
Student Registration Cost: $20
For 20% off registration, use discount code SOCIAL10
If you are a medical student interested in attending but the registration cost poses a barrier, please contact [email protected].
May 22, 2026: “When Weight Becomes the Wrong Target: Transitioning from Obesity Medicine to Weight-Inclusive Care” with Dr. Michelle Tubman
Free for AWSIM members and students
$35 for non-members
This newsletter was authored by MSSI member Megan Coolahan (Tufts University School of Medicine)