Fat Chat

Lisa Todd is the Licensure Programs Administrator in the College of Education at PSU. She loves to go walking, hiking, and baking. Her and her family are amateur astronomers and love to take their telescopes out and stay out late into the night during the summer. Some of her favorite foods are popcorn, potato chips, and Oregon berries. Check out Lisa's Fat Chat interview to learn more about body positivity and anti-fat bias.

Content warning: there will be discussion regarding eating disorders and cancer in this article, so please take care. There are resources for support at the end of the article. 

Sonia Hiller is a PSU student majoring in Applied Health & Fitness. Her favorite food is salmon nigiri and she enjoys spending time outside with her dog. Check out Sonia's Fat Chat interview to learn more about reaching a state of healing and vitality after struggling with eating disorders. 

Content warning: there will be discussion regarding eating disorders in this article, so please take care; there are resources for support at the end of the article. 

Debbie is a Senior Instructor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (SPH). She teaches a number of different subjects in the public health realm including public health marketing and intro to fat studies, which she brought to the PSU SPH. Debbie has been plant based for over a decade and loves to eat grain bowls with veggies and a yummy sauce. She also loves gardening and can usually be found in her or her daughter’s garden.

Check out Debbie's interview about body liberation and embracing size diversity

Fiona Pelkie is in the Social Science program Bachelors of Science, minoring in Child, Youth, and Family studies and English. She has been working at Campus Rec for 1.5 years, where she is the Equipment Center Student Coordinator, works with the Climbing Center to facilitate Fat-Positive Climbing events, and hosts kayak roll sessions at the pool. See Fiona's Fat Chat interview to learn more about overcoming internalized bias and being kind to your body.

Content warning: there will be discussion regarding eating disorders in this article, so please take care. There are resources for support at the end of the article. 

Haley Jones is a PSU Alumni and worked at Campus Rec for 4 years as a lifeguard and Group X instructor. They currently have their own private practice that they opened in June of 2020 after receiving their Masters in Counseling. Haley primarily sees clients dealing with eating disorders, disordered eating, OCD, and the impacts of trauma. Read Haley's Fat Chat interview to learn more about being fat positive.

Cory Lira is the Assistant Director of the Women’s Resource Center at PSU. Cory loves fried plantains and juice brings them great joy. They really enjoying composting, love to eat, and has been focusing on pleasure as opposed to productivity. Read the interview with Cory to learn more about the fat justice movement. 

Campus Rec promotes the Health At Every Size (HAES)® model that moves the focus from a person’s weight to their behaviors, unique sets of abilities, and available resources. Learn more about the history, research, and principles of HAES. 

This week's article reviews terms and definitions that are crucial for understanding the Health at Every Size® movement. Learn about terms like diet culture, healthism, fatphobia, and more to deepen your knowledge. 

This week's article details the differences between myths and facts in dieting culture. Identify myths and facts on BMI, obesity, weight loss, and the Health at Every Size® model. 

What is diet culture? Join Fat Chat to learn about diet culture in depth, identify where it rears its ugly head, and dive into the history of diet culture. This article offers a summary of a chapter from Christy Harrison’s must-read book, Anti-Diet. 

Disclaimer: Some of the examples of diet culture that are shared in this article might be practices that you are engaging in. Please know that you are not alone. It is very hard to leave diet culture behind us. There is no judgment. We are emphasizing the culture, not how we react to it.

Go back in time with this week's article on the history of Anti-Fat bias. Learn more about how Anti-Fat bias has developed and affected the world throughout many generations. 

Disclaimer: This is an intense subject and may cause some discomfort about your own privileges and experiences. 

Learn about how weight stigma and weight cycling can cause a number of issues on our emotional, mental and physical health. It can affect hormone levels, create change in appetite, affect metabolic function, and more.