Saskatoon conference to focus on body acceptance, inclusivity

Weight stigma is "so ingrained into the fabric of our society" that it's often invisible, says a counsellor and body image coach.

That manifests in things like, 'I'm not going to go to the beach until I weigh this much or until I'm this size.- Sydney Bell, counsellor and body image coach

This can make the issue all the more challenging, damaging and problematic to address, Sydney Bell told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Bell said weight stigma, or "fat phobia," happens in three areas of life. First, there's an internalized feeling of fear and shame that is experienced by people of varying body shapes and sizes.

"That manifests in things like, 'I'm not going to go to the beach until I weigh this much or until I'm this size,'" said Bell.

"We also can experience it in our interpersonal relationships through fat comments, body policing, fat talk and diet talk and all those kinds of things, where people are making direct comments to us," she added.

"But we can also experience it in a sort of an institutional, societal level where people who live in larger bodies can face impacts around employment or being denied health care — or reduced access to health care — because of either physical barriers, in terms of things like gowns not fitting or high-blood pressure cuffs not fitting, to attitudes of providers or potential employers that create barriers."

Nourish conference fosters body love

Bell, an Ontario-based coach and social worker, will be the keynote speaker for the upcoming Nourish conference in Saskatoon. The conference, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at Station 20 West, aims to foster a body love revolution and encourages self-acceptance and the exploration of health and wellness practices that are not focused primarily on weight loss.

Inspired by The Body Love Conference in Arizona, the first Nourish conference was held on Nov. 21, 2015. The conference focuses on inclusivity, diversity and body acceptance and is billed on its website as a "community-building event for anyone with a body" aged 16 or older.

Bell said weight stigma can be an issue among health-care providers, and it is well document patients with larger bodies "often have negative qualities attributed to them, such as weak-willed or lazy or non-compliant."

"We really see weight stigma in health care and service provision evident in what is known as a 'default obesity diagnosis,' in where assumptions are made about a person's lifestyle habits, such as how they eat or their exercise habits based on their body size. And many, many times — often without examination or tests — people's health-care challenges are attributed to their body size, and just the blanket suggestion offered without much further examination or exploration."

Bell said it's helpful for individuals facing weight stigma — particularly in the context of health-care provision —– to come "to the realization that they are, indeed, facing an unfair situation."

She encourages people to explore a weight-neutral approach to health and well-being, such as the principles of the Health at Every Size movement. This can help them better understand the issues and advocate for the "health care they need and deserve."