Towards Weight Neutrality / Inclusivity and Health Equity

Welcome to the corner of the internet, where you can help shift the narrative around health, food, movement and body image. My name is Helen James, and I’m the founder of Nutriri. But this blog post isn’t about me—it’s about a movement, a collective effort to create a world where health is not measured by the number on the scale, but by the quality of life we experience every day.

All Lived Experiences Matter

Since 2015, we’ve been listening. Listening to people who have shared their experiences with uninvited weight talk and intentional weight change - those casual comments about body size that seem to creep into conversations, medical consultations, and even well-meaning advice from loved ones. We’ve heard how these comments have impacted lives, leading to feelings of shame, self-doubt, and in many cases, avoidance of the healthcare system itself.

Shifting the Narrative: From Individual Blame to Systemic Change

A significant part of our work is shifting the narrative away from ‘individual blame’, towards creating stigma informed systems. For too long, individuals have been made to feel wholly responsible for their health struggles, with an emphasis on willpower and weight change as measures of success. This ignores the broader, complex factors that influence health, such as access to care, socio-economic conditions, and weight stigma within healthcare. By focusing on systems change, we aim to create environments where people are supported holistically, rather than blamed, and trust that their health is prioritised.

Challenges Within the Healthcare System

I’ve had the privilege of speaking with professionals in health management and promotion. These are the people on the front lines, trying to make a difference in public health, often while working within a system that’s deeply entrenched in weight-focused paradigms. Many of them are frustrated, feeling that their efforts to promote health are being overshadowed by an outdated focus on weight change as the primary indicator of success or health.

Digging Deeper: The Flaws of Weight-Focused Policies

So, we at Nutriri decided to dig deeper. We examined three decades of policy and strategy aimed at improving population health and found that much of the focus—and funding—has been directed towards weight change. Yet, the impact on positive health outcomes has been minimal. In fact, the pursuit of weight change often leads to more harm than good, perpetuating a cycle of weight stigma, health disparities, and emotional distress.

In May 2022, we took our findings to The House of Commons, where Jeremy Hunt, then Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, asked us about weight discrimination in healthcare. This moment was a turning point, not just for our community organisation but for the conversation around weight and health. It reinforced our commitment to helping create stigma informed systems, a weight-neutral approach—one that prioritises health and equity over the pursuit of weight change.

Co-Creating Weight-Neutral Solutions

Our approach is grounded in the lived experiences of real people. We’ve co-developed products and services that help reduce inequalities and rebuild trust in health, food, and movement—without a weight focus. One of our key initiatives is the ‘Weight Neutral Training’ course, designed with social prescribers and the wider professional workforce. This course is helping to shift the healthcare system towards a more inclusive, evidence-based approach to improving population health.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence we’ve seen comes from a robust 14-year study involving 11,000 participants. The study shows that it’s not changing BMI that brings health benefits, but rather engaging in beneficial behaviours sustained over time. This aligns with what we’ve been hearing from our community—that health is about more than just weight, and that the constant focus on it can actually be detrimental to overall well-being.

Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare

Weight stigma in healthcare is a real and pressing issue. Research by Shaw and Meadows in 2022 highlighted how weight stigma among healthcare providers is linked to healthcare avoidance, higher allostatic load (the wear and tear on the body due to chronic stress), and a higher prevalence of chronic diseases. This stigma is not just a barrier to care; it’s a barrier to health equity.

Meanwhile, healthcare systems continue to prioritise weight change as a key to health improvement, often referring individuals to 'slimming clubs' and other weight-focused interventions. This approach not only questions individual willpower but also perpetuates an unsustainable and harmful focus on body size.

Our impact focuses on rebuilding trust in the healthcare system. By promoting weight-neutral/inclusive approaches, we've helped more people feel confident in seeking care without the fear of judgement. This shift is not just improving individual health, but also restoring faith in healthcare, making it a more supportive and equitable space for everyone.

Join Us in Thriving Together

At Nutriri, we’re working to change this narrative, and we need your help. We’re co-creating solutions with every cohort of ‘Weight Neutral Training’ and ‘Food and Body Ease’ participants who walk through our doors. Our mission is to move the system away from a weight-normative approach and towards a weight-neutral, inclusive route to improved population health and the prevention of poor health outcomes.

This work is deeply personal, not only to me, but to everyone who connects through the Co-Learning Hub.

Through gathering and connecting our experiences, we have a chance to make the years of struggle meaningful and strengthen our push for change.

Thank you for joining us in this work... Together, we can create a world where health is not just about surviving, but thriving—no matter our body size.