Jessica Lind, RD, LD

Approach to care

• What does it look like for you to provide care to patients in larger bodies? How is, or isn’t, your approach different from how you care for patients in smaller bodies? If you work with children, how is or isn’t your approach different when working with children?

  I definitely treat people in larger bodies differently than people in smaller bodies. My fat clients come into my office carrying the impacts of what is often a lifetime of fatphobia, weight bias, and oppressive systems, and to not acknowledge that in a plan of care is to miss an entire part of someone's identity. Everyone will get the same quality of care, but that care will undoubtedly look different.

• What is your perspective on how weight is or is not related to health?

  There are times when health problems can impact weight, and when changes in weight can be a symptom of a health problem. But weight, by itself, is not a health problem and therefore doesn't need treatment - especially not with nutrition. My mantra in this area has become "you can't solve a non-nutrition problem with a nutrition solution."

• Finish this sentence: “Fat people are…” 

  Pretty rad, don't you think?!

• How do you, your clinic, and the healthcare system you work in use BMI (i.e BMI cutoffs for accessing certain services, BMI on charts and printouts, etc)? Is this flexible?

  I do not use BMI as a measurement tool, only as a topic of discussion when fact-checking how unhelpful it is!

• If a patient declines to be weighed, how do you and/or your staff proceed?

  In general, I collect weights much less often than the average eating disorder dietitian. In the rare case that I feel that collecting weights would be helpful to your treatment plan then I will have a discussion with you about why I think that and what I would use the information for. You are always welcome to decline!

• If a patient declines to discuss weight loss, nutrition, and/or exercise, how do you proceed?

  You will always have autonomy in what we discuss during visits! My job is to create a space that is safe and accepting enough to talk about the hard stuff, and be patient in waiting until you are ready to do so. Talking about a person's experience and relationship with weight loss attempts, nutrition, and exercise is often part of the process, but you get to choose how that conversation goes!

• What does the physical accessibility of your office space look like? What kinds of accommodations are present for people in larger bodies? Are there things you wish were in place that are currently not? 

  The waiting room and office has size-inclusive furniture, ADA accessibility (including ramps and elevators), and thoughtful layouts and spaces.

• What do you do to allow fat people to feel comfortable and welcome in your office? 

  I build a sense of safety in my space through ambient lighting, comfy furniture, pillows/blankets, fidgets, and welcoming vibes.

• If you’d like to use this space to talk about any identities (gender, race, size, sexuality, etc.) you hold and how this relates to your care, please do so. 

  I am a mid-sized, cis-gendered, straight, white woman. There is a lot of privilege in those identities that is important to name.