San Francisco Health Department hires 'fat positivity' expert to consult on 'weight stigma and neutrality'

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has hired a self-described "anti-weight-based discrimination" expert to consult on "weight stigma and weight neutrality."

Virgie Tovar, the author of 'You Have the Right to Remain Fat" and other published works on "fat positivity and body acceptance" announced on her Instagram Monday that she was hired to consult for the department, calling the collaboration an "absolute dream come true."

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"I'm unbelievably proud to serve the city I've called home for almost 20 years in this way!" she wrote. "This consultancy is an absolute dream come true, and it's my biggest hope and belief that weight neutrality will be the future of public health."

Tovar's website lists her as a ​"plus-size Latina author, lecturer, and leading expert on weight-based discrimination and body positivity with over a decade of experience." She is a contributor for Forbes, where she covers stories on the "plus size market." Her most recent articles include features about hosting a "size inclusive" Thanksgiving and alleged "fatphobia" in current TV shows. 

It is unclear what role Tovar will play within the department. The San Francisco Department of Public Health did not respond when asked by Fox News Digital about details of Tovar's consultancy.

Tovar has been vocal against diet culture and BMI metrics on her social media platforms. In a video posted by Project Heal, Tovar discussed how medical professionals pressured her to lose weight since she was a child and that she had falsely believed they were doing so with her health in mind.

"I really believed that this was about my health. I really believed my doctor was right and so I was using the language of getting "better" but I was actually deeply in the throes of anorexia," she said.

In July, Tovar posted that she conducted a weight bias training for unidentified government workers, sharing 4 tips she taught to help decrease "stigma around food and bodies at work."

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"1. Talk less or not at all about how you and others eat at work," she wrote. "2. Talk less or not at all about you or others' bodies at work. 3. Talk less or not at all about exercise at work. 4. Don't presume that food, weight, body size or exercise are safe or comfortable topics to discuss at work for everyone."

In a separate Instagram post, Tovar held up a sign with the words "I don't want Ozempic," sharing that she was offered the weight-loss drug free of charge but declined it because it would not "solve weight bias."

She has also been critical of the characterization of obesity as a "disease."

Tovar offers DEI corporate trainings, per her website, which lists the Seattle Transit Agency, UC Berkeley and other notable companies as former clients.

Tovar could not be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

source https://www.foxnews.com/media/san-francisco-health-department-hires-fat-positivity-expert-consult-weight-stigma-neutrality