This guide is based on Weight & Measure’s conversation with patient advocate and nurse educator Michelle Tedder and public-health researcher and health-equity strategist Dr. Jovonni Spinner.
- Who gets to define a healthy body?
- How can culture and family shape obesity treatment?
- Why is shared decision making especially important?
- What can healthcare professionals learn from the experiences of Black women?
Who should define success in obesity care?
Michelle Tedder emphasizes that the individual should be a leading voice and that shared decision making should be a baseline for deciding which tools and goals make sense.
Why focus this conversation on Black women?
The episode uses the experiences of Black women to explore how culture, identity, belonging, health disparities and access can shape obesity care, while acknowledging that many of these questions extend beyond any one community.
Can family and culture affect treatment decisions?
Yes. The discussion describes how family expectations and cultural ideas about body size can influence how a person experiences weight change and treatment. Those influences are context for care, not a reason to override the individual’s goals.
What does equitable care require?
The conversation highlights listening, access, representation and avoiding assumptions about what health or treatment success should look like for a patient based on identity or appearance.
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Listen to the Weight & Measure conversation
Who Defines a Healthy Body? Obesity Through the Lens of Black Women
Who gets to decide what a healthy body looks like?Is it the patient? Their clinician? Their family? Their community? And what happens when culture, identity, health, and personal goals don't all point toward the same an…
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