Overview

• Virgie Tovar, a self-described expert on weight-based discrimination, has been hired as a consultant for the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
• Her role focuses on educating staff about weight neutrality and addressing weight stigma in public health programs.
• The temporary consultancy, part of the Healthy Eating and Active Living program, runs through June 2025 with a $12,000 contract.
• Tovar advocates for weight-neutrality, rejecting traditional metrics like BMI as primary health indicators, and is critical of diet culture and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
• This appointment reflects a broader movement to address weight discrimination, with other states like Massachusetts considering legislation to ban weight-based bias.