Wellness is just another word for anything but fat

Many years ago I worked in the behavioral health department at a local Children’s Hospital. Although the organization touted itself as a leader in mental health and eating disorder treatment, it was anything but for the employees.

A discount on my health insurance was tied to my weight

The harm done by instituting “wellness” programs mandated by the hospital in order to receive a discount on health insurance played a not insignificant role in my active eating disorder. For me to pay $100 less in premiums a month I would need to submit to being weighed and having blood work done that would be evaluated by my insurance and my employer.

I was healthy but that didn’t matter

Besides having a high BMI (a measurement we know was NOT developed to measure individual health), I had no other indicators that I had any health concerns. Despite this, I had to speak with a “health coach” monthly about my weight and what I was doing to try to make my body smaller.

The advice I was given affirmed my eating disorder behaviors

I was told to restrict my calories, cut out food groups and increase exercise. I was not asked what I eat or how much I ate or what types of exercise I did. It didn’t matter. Because my employer decided that being fat was my fault and I couldn’t possibly know how to care for my health.

These programs are fatphobic and ableist

The premise of these programs is that individual health and weight is completely within our control. If I starved myself enough I would be healthy. And I tried, believe me. Unfortunately all this lead to was eventual binges and weight gain (this is common to 95% of people who diet or starve themselves).

What if the hospital recognized that ALL of their employees deserve equal access to healthcare?

Employees who are disabled or chronically ill or even just fat either have to pay extra or are forced to work with someone to change their health status. The underlying assumption is that employees need outside motivation to take care of their health. And those that aren’t in perfect health clearly just need an extra push to try harder.

I am lucky that I am able to access my spouse’s health insurance and it doesn’t require these measures

If you are stuck with an insurance plan through an employer with ableist and fatphobic ideals, there are ways around it. I have written letters for my clients to excuse them from these programs due to the detrimental impact on their mental health and eating disorder. Of course, this requires self disclosure to your employer which is also problematic.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Ask if any providers in your life will write you a letter.

If you don’t have anyone and you live in Ohio or Florida you can schedule an evaluation with me to see if I can assist you with this.

As individuals it’s hard to imagine trying to fight these systems that abuse their power with their employees

If you feel comfortable, write a letter to your human resources or speak to your manager why this is wrong.

I wish at the time I was forced into wellness coaching I was aware of the injustice of these programs. Unfortunately for me, it sunk me deeper and deeper into my own eating disorder behaviors.