ARTICLE

FindCenter AddIcon

Why Did Weight Become the Scapegoat for Health Issues?: A Q&A with Sabrina Strings, PhD

By Sabrina Strings — 2020

When the associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine examined current assumptions around body fat, she found them to be overly simplistic and lacking in evidence. For example, there are numerous examples of what the medical establishment calls overweight or obesity being associated with better health outcomes compared to underweight or normal weight. And an examination of 17 million health records revealed that the increased risk of dying from COVID-19 among Black people is not explained by obesity or diabetes. In her book, Fearing the Black Body, Strings shows how slavery and racism have shaped common views of body fat and its health consequences. Her work underscores why it’s imperative that poor health outcomes are traced to their structural and social roots and not blamed on individual choices.

Read on goop.com

FindCenter Post-Image

The Creative Collectives Finding Strength in Numbers

The 1960s and ’70s stand as an era of artistic community — of collectives: musicians and writers, artists and architects, photographers and filmmakers listening, arguing and creating with each other. Now they're rediscovering their power.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Why We Can’t Breathe

“If one of us cannot breathe, none of us can breathe,” writes Buddhist scholar Jan Willis in this poignant essay.

FindCenter AddIcon

EXPLORE TOPIC

Racism