San Francisco hires ‘weight neutrality’ expert
San Francisco’s Department of Public Health has hired a “weight neutrality” consultant to advise officials on how to help people feel better about being overweight.
Virgie Tovar, an obese woman who describes herself as an advocate for “fat positivity,” will help guide the Public Health Department in fighting “weight stigma” and “anti-weight-based discrimination.” Tovar authored a book called “You Have the Right to Remain Fat” (Feminist Press, 2018) and was named one of Bitch Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Feminists.
The “100% anti-diet, body-positive” woman took to Instagram this week to announce her new role.
“I'm unbelievably proud to serve the city I've called home for almost 20 years in this way!' she wrote. “This consultancy is an absolute dream come true, and it's my biggest hope and belief that weight neutrality will be the future of public health.”
“This is real?” billionaire Elon Musk asked on X in response to the news.
‘Weight loss is a trap’
Obesity is a dangerous condition that causes diabetes, heart disease, cancer, sleep apnea, muscoskeletal issues, and other maladies. An estimated 1 out of 6 deaths in the US are related to obesity and the number is rising. By 2050, it is estimated that one out of every three children and two out of every three adults will be overweight or obese.
Tovar, who celebrated receiving the COVID-19 vaccine by drinking a cocktail, refers to scientific warnings about obesity as “complex scientific theories” and says it is actually dieting that causes poor health.
“Diet culture — not its absence — is correlated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes,” she wrote in Good Housekeeping.
“Diet culture doesn't do anything positive,” Tovar told the Washington Post in 2021. “Weight loss is a trap that keeps us stuck in bingeing and restricting cycles that are emotionally and physically toxic.”
Many other X users questioned Tovar’s appointment, noting San Francisco’s descent into rampant crime, drug use, and homelessness. Even migrants have come to refer to the city as “America’s Kabul,” referring to the Taliban controlled capital of Afghanistan, and federal workers have been advised to work from home due to soaring crime rates.
“So the goal is not to fix any problems. Just to make people feel better about having them,” wrote one social media user.
“San Francisco is just making their problems worse,” another said.
