'Don't Weigh Me' Campaign Works To Reduce Stress At Doctor's Office

Dec 29, 2021 by apost team

When we go to the doctor’s office, we want them to give us the best care and treatment possible, and assist us with moving toward becoming the healthiest versions of ourselves. This sometimes includes having tests done, like bloodwork, along with our standard procedures. Something that most people also have done during their visit to the doctor’s office is get weighed, but a group of advocates is hoping to change that.

More-Love.org is a group that was founded in 2016 by Ginny Jones, a life coach who specializes in eating disorder recovery. She provides free online resources about weight, food and mental health. Her group has since created “Don’t Weigh Me” cards designed to instruct doctors to not weigh patients every single time they have to go in for an appointment unless it is absolutely necessary. 

According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate among mental health disorders. With so much emphasis on diet culture in the media and real life, as well as mental health issues such as body dysmorphia and a vast variety of eating disorders, this campaign is being done to help reduce stress for people who feel anxious or get worried about seeing the number on the scale.

While knowing a patient’s weight can be helpful at times when it comes to receiving healthcare treatments and procedures, many people believe that getting weighed does not need to be a regular routine during their checkups or other appointments. Read on to find out more about this body positivity campaign.

According to the Daily Mail, More-Love.org created the “Don’t Weigh Me” cards as a way to help patients ask their doctors to not weigh them at every appointment. The cards are either available to consumers for free, excluding the cost of shipping and handling, or to businesses for the price of $32 for a pack of 100. Doctors surgeries in the United States now provide patients with the cards, according to the Daily Mail.

The cards read:

“Please don’t weigh me unless it’s (really) medically necessary. If you really need my weight, please tell me why so that I can give you my informed consent.” 

There is also a list on the back of the cards with reasons why being weighed is not always necessary, such as, “Most health conditions can be addressed without knowing my weight.” According to the Daily Mail, there are also other cards for parents to give to doctors, asking them to not talk to their children about their weight without their consent.

Many people have praised the cards for helping patients who are struggling with an eating disorder or have body image issues, while others have criticized the cards for being “overly sensitive.” However, online activist Alex Light fought back, explaining that some people may be overweight despite having a standard healthy lifestyle, and that the negative responses show a “lack of empathy.”

She added, “These cards are an incredibly positive introduction – because most health conditions can be addressed without knowing weight, focusing on weight can be very stressful to the patient, weight stigma is a VERY real thing that this helps tackle and people can focus on health regardless of their weight.”

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What do you think about these “Don’t Weigh Me” cards? Let us know, and feel free to send this along to your loved ones, too.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please visit nationaleatingdisorders.org or anad.org for resources.