Bodyweight—the number on the scale—has been constructed as an objective measure of health, and weight loss as synonymous with healthier. Weight has been used as a way of classifying and controlling people, ignoring the embodied, relational, and cultural meanings attached to health and weight. Instead, these subjective experiences are lumped into a numerical category. Our society's obsession with weight is weighing us down and most of us should toss out our scales. Scale stories offer a departure from canonical narratives about physical health and body image by emphasizing emotions and lived experiences instead of bodyweight and numerical categories.
