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BackgroundIn an era when obesity prevalence is high throughout much of the world, there is a correspondingly pervasive and strong culture of weight stigma. For example, representative studies show that some forms of weight discrimination are more prevalent even than discrimination based on race or ethnicity.DiscussionIn this Opinion article, we review compelling evidence that weight stigma is harmful to health, over and above objective body mass index. Weight stigma is prospectively related to heightened mortality and other chronic diseases and conditions. Most ironically, it actually begets heightened risk of obesity through multiple obesogenic pathways. Weight stigma is particularly prevalent and detrimental in healthcare settings, with documented high levels of 'anti-fat' bias in healthcare providers, patients with obesity receiving poorer care and having worse outcomes, and medical students with obesity reporting high levels of alcohol and substance use to cope with internalized weight stigma. In terms of solutions, the most effective and ethical approaches should be aimed at changing the behaviors and attitudes of those who stigmatize, rather than towards the targets of weight stigma. Medical training must address weight bias, training healthcare professionals about how it is perpetuated and on its potentially harmful effects on their patients.ConclusionWeight stigma is likely to drive weight gain and poor health and thus should be eradicated. This effort can begin by training compassionate and knowledgeable healthcare providers who will deliver better care and ultimately lessen the negative effects of weight stigma.

In order to help inform efforts to fulfill the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) community's ethical goal toward pursuing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) the authors administered the 2023 GEM Climate Survey to attendees of the 2023 GEM Workshop. Its main goals were to 1) obtain organized demographic information about the GEM community, and 2) to provide a quantitative assessment of the GEM community's perceptions of its own culture primarily with respect to inclusion and belonging. Responses indicate the GEM community is comparable or slightly more diverse than heliophysics as a whole and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) general membership, but still not close to reflecting the population of the United States or the world. The average responses to survey items about feelings of belonging in the GEM community indicate that members feel they belong in the GEM community, that the GEM community climate is broadly inclusive, and that efforts to support that cultural climate are improving over time. This is true across the entire population regardless of career stage, as well as for female respondents; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Pansexual, Asexual (LGBTQPA+) respondents; Asian/Asian Subcontinent respondents; and non-Asian respondents of color. Division of the dataset into subgroups also indicates work to build a fully inclusive community is not complete, particularly with respect to workplace hostility these groups witness. This report recommends continuing work to capture the time history of demographics and trends in the community culture in response to inclusion efforts and initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives The co-occurring trends of population aging and climate change mean that rising numbers of U.S. older adults are at risk of intensifying heat exposure. We estimate county-level variations in older populations' heat exposure in the early (1995–2014) and mid (2050) 21st century. We identify the extent to which rising exposures are attributable to climate change versus population aging. Research Design and Methods We estimate older adults' heat exposure in 3,109 counties in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Analyses use NASA NEX Global Daily Downscaled Product (NEX-GDDP-CMIP6) climate data and county-level projections for the size and distribution of the U.S. age 69+ population. Results Population aging and rising temperatures are documented throughout the United States, with particular "hotspots" in the Deep South, Florida, and parts of the rural Midwest. Increases in heat exposure by 2050 will be especially steep in historically colder regions with large older populations in New England, the upper Midwest, and rural Mountain regions. Rising temperatures are driving exposure in historically colder regions, whereas population aging is driving exposure in historically warm southern regions. Discussion and Implications Interventions to address the impacts of temperature extremes on older adult well-being should consider the geographic distribution and drivers of this exposure. In historically cooler areas where climate change is driving exposures, investments in warning systems may be productive, whereas investments in health care and social services infrastructures are essential in historically hot regions where exposures are driven by population aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]