San Francisco's Weight Stigma Consultant

San Francisco has employed an overweight activist, Virgie Tovar, to work as a consultant on weight stigma and body positivity for the city’s Department of Public Health. Tovar promotes the idea of 'weight neutrality' and has shared her beliefs that individuals have the right to remain fat, encouraging a mindset of acceptance rather than encouraging healthy lifestyle changes. This initiative has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that it normalizes unhealthy lifestyles and undermines public health efforts aimed at combating issues linked to obesity. The move reflects a broader trend in which body positivity is sometimes misconstrued to mean embracing unhealthy behaviors instead of encouraging individuals to pursue better health.