Does this sound odd coming from a health organization?
There is a a growing body of evidence that fitness is a much better predictor of health than weight . One important study found that people with BMIs (body mass index) in the ”overweight” category (25-29.9, between 156-179 pounds for a 5’5″ tall woman) had a lower risk of death than those whose BMIs put them in the “normal” category.
Diets don’t work…
We know, you’re not just dieting for your health! You also want to fit into your skinny jeans. But restricting calories, while it may get you into those pants for a while, doesn’t work in the long term. Up to 95% of dieters regain the weight they lost, and sometimes more, within three to five years (see “The Fat Trap” by New York Times columnist, Tara Parker Pope).
It’s not just that diets don’t work. The constant emphasis on thinness is bad for our psychological, spiritual and physical health. According to the Association for Size Diversity and Health, which pioneered the Health At Every Size® (HAESSM) approach:
- Restrictive dieting and weight cycling can lead to physical complications including
slowed metabolism, reduced muscle tissue and body temperature,
and eating disorders. - 81% of 10-year-olds admit to dieting, binge eating, or a fear of getting fat and we are now
seeing eating disorders in children as young as five.
You are more than a number!
Despite what the culture and the $60 Billion + diet industry would have us believe, there is no “ideal number” for health. And just as health comes in all shapes and sizes, so does beauty. As do talent, creativity, intelligence and worth.
How much energy have you spent trying to reach an “ideal” that is’nt healthy or attainable for most of us? What could you accomplish were you to focus that energy elsewhere?
To quote from The Body Positive website, “Women and girls waste their time, brainpower, and money in desperate attempts to achieve unattainable beauty standards. These same resources can, instead, be put toward the pursuit of balanced health behaviors and activities rich with purpose and meaning.”
We’d like to leave y0u with this promotional video from @thebodypositive.
Great to see this endorsement of Health at Every Size! For more info about the HAES community, and to show support, visit http://www.HAESCommunity.org.