Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
The Robert G. Fenley Writing Awards: General Staff Writing
Gold
“Reframing Fatness” was a feature article that appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Medicine@Brown magazine. The article summarized the new perspective that the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is adopting to change how physicians approach weight-related issues in their practice.
What was the most impactful part of your entry?
The most impactful part was the quotes from people who have been made to feel ashamed of the size of their bodies during interactions with physicians and other health care providers. In the piece, one physician talks about her own experiences as a person in a larger body.
What challenge did you overcome?
We knew that we had to handle the science aspect of this piece very carefully, because physicians are still taught that being overweight is bad and unhealthy. There are a lot of stigmas and biases engrained in the field of medicine, and we had to really show the evidence that this science is evolving, that what readers may have learned in medical school may no longer be true; however, it was important to not make claims like that without backing them up, or the piece would have easily been dismissed.
Contact: Kris Cambra
kris_cambra@brown.edu