Chutes and ladders: collaborating across disciplines to improve mental and physical healthcare for larger-bodied people.

Weight stigma in healthcare contributes to poor patient outcomes, emotional harm, and avoidance of care. Healthcare systems are often perceived as hostile environments for many larger-bodied people who often report feeling judged, dismissed or denied appropriate treatment. Despite growing awareness, most medical educational programs and healthcare systems do not address weight bias directly. Persuading clinicians and staff to disrupt the traditional medical paradigm and instead adopt a size-inclusive perspective requires educational materials that push the envelope without pushing learners off a cliff. This paper describes the development of a weight-inclusive e-course designed to raise awareness of the impact of anti-fat bias in medicine. Grounded in the philosophical frameworks of Health at Every Size™ (HAES™) and Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), the course was co-created by a multidisciplinary team including clinicians, educators, activists, and individuals with lived experience. The collaborative process emphasized shared leadership, inclusive design, and emotional safety. We detail the course's development over six months of weekly virtual meetings, including content creation, conflict resolution, accessibility planning, and evaluation design. The course includes three tracks tailored to clinicians, staff, and patients, and integrates practical tools for weight-neutral care. Lessons learned from this process offer a replicable model for inclusive curriculum design. Our aim is for learners to engage deeply with this work in order to fully reap the benefits for themselves and their patients. Institutions seeking to address weight stigma can use this framework to foster respectful, equitable care for people in all bodies.