In this newsletter edition, I will attempt to challenge your view of fat as being equal to unhealthy.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that all the information I had been fed about weight research was only one side of the coin. I didn’t even recognize that the coin fell on the side of the diet industry. I ate all that I was fed and only felt bad about myself when I wasn’t their “ideal weight”.

No longer; I now see the other side of the coin. To start to reveal the other side of the coin, I will allow the words of Katherine Flegal to help me (thus, I will not be the only one preaching here):

Katherine M. Flegal, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at the National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, explains, “Although people think there’s all this evidence out there showing a high mortality risk associated with (being) overweight, in fact the literature doesn’t show it.” Far from it. Flegal’s research, analyzing 30 years of actual deaths in the US, corrected an earlier CDC report that indicated severe risks related to (being) overweight. She showed instead that being clinically ‘overweight’ is associated with a lower death rate than so-called ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ weight. (JAMA 2005;293:1861-1867). It confirmed much earlier research that had been studiously ignored.

Further, I would like to point out that research telling us to lose weight isn’t even working! Instead, the more we diet, the more we become more and more obsessed with food, our bodies and our failures. So, even if you do believe that being fat is unhealthy, is dieting really working for you?

So many long standing, compelling messages are received every day telling us to believe that being fat is unhealthy and unattractive. It breeds size discrimination and self hatred. These are unhealthy traits that many obesity studies are creating, says me, and others agree.

“HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE (also known as HEALTH AT ANY SIZE) is a health-centered paradigm that focuses on total health and well-being, not weight. It promotes active living, eating well without dieting, and a nurturing environment that includes respect and acceptance for people of all sizes.” 

To support the people I work with, one of the first steps we take is to help them stop dieting. The majority who do this experience an immediate freedom from food they have never before experienced as adults. They tell me they eat less because they actually enjoyed what they really wanted, rather than avoiding just that. They say the need to binge decreases right away and many report fewer obsessions with their body size. Very quickly, those who stop their dieting practices feel healthier. You can too!

I argue that the unhealthiness that comes from being “overweight” has more to do with the anxiety of size discrimination. If health and beauty at any size was truly practiced, I believe we might all be at our own ideal weight based on our unique genetics and overall be happier people. Even if the “all” part of this argument didn’t happen, we would be healthier…discrimination isn’t healthy for anyone.