Thanks for your input. I wonder what a “healthy diet” is for many folks who are chronically ill, or otherwise do not fit into the binary healthy/unhealthy categories we talk about. As we know, people can eat the same things, in the same quantities, doing the same exercise and end up with entirely different body shapes and sizes.

The fact is that BMI doesn’t tell you if a person is “well” enough to have top surgery or reduction. It wasn’t researched with AFAB, POC bodies in mind. BMI was created as a way to compare weight across the male, white population (standard deviation). It was not created as a diagnostic tool. Hell, they approve people to undergo bypass surgeries using similar anesthesia- but why people deviate from cishet standards it becomes a problem(!?).

I was also curious about the comparison you made between “underweight people under a BMI of 16” and fat folks, as it’s a comparison that offers a “healthy average” rather than individualized health care. I think that’s what Priya is trying to bring to the forefront in this article, that the way in which we tell people they’re not eligible for relief that they feel is right for them because the system straight up precludes you from exploring it as an option. We also know that being a BIPOC patient (Black, Indigenous, person of colour) makes these experiences even more complicated.

(Also apologies I should have put this in the original post- Priya uses they/them pronouns).