Despite overwhelming agreement on the failure of
diets to promote
lasting change and growing evidence of potentially dangerous physical
and
psychological consequences, weight-related research and intervention
continue
to focus on the promotion of weight loss through dietary restriction.
And
despite almost universal recidivism following weight-loss programs and
an epidemic of dangerous eating disorders, people continue to spend
billions
of dollars yearly on weight-loss products and services.
As a scientist and practitioner who has been helping people
with weight-related
concerns for more than 15 years, I am deeply troubled by this continued
investment in a clearly failed and potentially harmful approach. Our
culture's
unrelenting obsession with thinness has spawned a pervasive prejudice
that
causes tremendous suffering and social isolation for individuals of
size.
This is particularly damaging for young girls and women who are
continually
pressured to divert significant proportions of their energy and
resources
to the pursuit of ideals of body shape and size that are, for the vast
majority, neither achievable nor healthy. Indeed, women of all sizes
suffer
from an intense fear of fat that plays havoc with their self-esteem and
promotes disordered eating and exercise behavior. And men suffer as
well,
by participating in a culture that defines the worth of more than one
half
of its population in terms of physical appearance, rather than by the
recognition
of truly meaningful qualities such as honesty, compassion and
love.
This unrelenting pressure to be thin is driven by diet,
fashion, cosmetic,
fitness and pharmaceutical industries that reap tremendous financial
rewards
by promoting unattainable expectations, particularly for women. In
addition,
many obesity researchers have economic links to this
"diet-pharmaceutical-industrial
complex", creating powerful incentives for maintaining the status quo
and
contributing to questionable objectivity in the reporting of research
findings.
Studies indicate that health professionals are often
extremely prejudicial
in their treatment of larger individuals. The "New Paradigm" approach
also referred to as Health At Every Size, offers practitioners
an
alternative for compassionate, health-enhancing care. This approach
encourages self-acceptanceby
honoring the natural diversity in body shape and size and by exposing
societal
prejudice and discrimination against larger individuals. It promotes
the
benefits of physical activity by encouraging social, pleasure-directed
movement. Finally, it helps people to re-connect eating to internally-directed
hunger, appetite and satiety cues, leading to a more normal,
peaceful
relationship with food.
The comprenhensive information that can be accessed by
clicking on the
link, First, Do No Harm anywhere
on
this page, provides a much needed and long overdue resource to help
health
professionals move towards more compassionate and effective ways of
helping
people with eating and weight-related concerns. Detailed explanation of
the Health At Every Size movement will help practitioners
understand
the concepts and learn the skills necessary to incorporate this new
approach
into their practices.
By breaking the endless cycle of weight loss and regain,
this approach
can help to stop the waste of valuable resources that results from our
cultural obsession with thinness. The goal is to help people make
positive
changes to improve the quality of their lives regardless of weight
status.
The end result will be a culture that is less judgmental and more truly
diverse, and individuals who lead healthy fulfilled lives by honoring
and
caring for the bodies they already have.