Why Obesity as a Chronic Disease Requires Health Equity and Weight Stigma Awareness and Compassionate, Culturally Responsive Care

So let's talk about that.

Let's talk about obesity in the Black community.

Like I said earlier, people have all sorts of theories.

And we have always been told it is a you issue.

I really love what you said that you feel like you were the one failing patients rather than patients failing.

Because when it comes to obesity, your habitus is often seen as a personal statement.

That if you can't control your body, then you are fill-in-the-blank, lazy, not smart, don't try enough, gluttonous, right? It's one of the seven deadly sins, right? It's gluttony.

But it's so much more complicated.

And then you throw in all of the things that affect our community, the Black community, women, Black women, and it becomes more complicated.

Right.

Right.

How do you see yourself in fitting in specifically in that niche of supporting Black women to understand this is a disease process that is so much more complicated than simply you ate too much?

Well, I look at this concept and it was really interesting as I was talking to Dr. some of my Black female and Black male patients this week of allostatic load.

And so when I throw that out in this particular way, Doc, I don't know what that means.

Yeah, I

couldn't say, define that for the listener.

You know, stress.

Let's just call it stress.

And let's call it chronic stress and chronic trauma through the generations, through daily life, through the fact that you might not know where your next meal is going to come from.

You don't know where that bill is going to get paid.

Maybe you had to deal with sexual trauma.

Maybe you had to deal with domestic violence.

Maybe you're still dealing with these issues.

And maybe you had to deal with racism.

Maybe you're dealing with it right now.

So let's talk about that.

Let's talk about obesity in the Black community.

Like I said earlier, people have all sorts of theories.

And we have always been told it is a you issue.

I really love what you said that you feel like you were the one failing patients rather than patients failing.

Because when it comes to obesity, your habitus is often seen as a personal statement.

That if you can't control your body, then you are fill-in-the-blank, lazy, not smart, don't try enough, gluttonous, right? It's one of the seven deadly sins, right? It's gluttony.

But it's so much more complicated.

And then you throw in all of the things that affect our community, the Black community, women, Black women, and it becomes more complicated.

Right.

Right.

How do you see yourself in fitting in specifically in that niche of supporting Black women to understand this is a disease process that is so much more complicated than simply you ate too much?

Well, I look at this concept and it was really interesting as I was talking to Dr. some of my Black female and Black male patients this week of allostatic load.

And so when I throw that out in this particular way, Doc, I don't know what that means.

Yeah, I

couldn't say, define that for the listener.

You know, stress.

Let's just call it stress.

And let's call it chronic stress and chronic trauma through the generations, through daily life, through the fact that you might not know where your next meal is going to come from.

You don't know where that bill is going to get paid.

Maybe you had to deal with sexual trauma.

Maybe you had to deal with domestic violence.

Maybe you're still dealing with these issues.

And maybe you had to deal with racism.

Maybe you're dealing with it right now.