sarahmichigan | Health at Every Size

When I was doing some interest searching on LJ, I was hapy to find there's a "Health at Every Size" community. Right now, it appears to be one person mostly posting articles about obesity research and health and fitness advice for larger people. I hope the community grows. The principles of the "Health at Every Size" philosophy are:

1) Accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes.

2) Recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional and that they include physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional, and intellectual aspects.

3) Promoting all aspects of health and well-being for people of all sizes.

4) Promoting eating in a manner which balances individual nutritional needs, hunger, satiety, appetite, and pleasure.

5) Promoting individually appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity, rather than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.

This is very close to my own health and fitness philosophy. I believe that taking the focus OFF the numbers on the scale and focusing ON eating right and getting exercise no matter what size you're at is the way to go.

I think that focusing on weight-loss as a goal, rather than as a by-product of a healthy lifestyle, is extremely mentally and physically unhealthy.

There is a lot of good data that indicates that maintaining the same weight and getting regular exercise is better for you than repeated weight gain/weight loss cyles. There is also ample evidence that fat people who exercise enjoy better health and longer life expectancy than thinner people who are sedentary. It's also much more likely that you'll die early if you're a few pounds under your "ideal weight" than if you're 50 or 60 pounds over your so-called "ideal weight."

One of the negative side-effects of focusing on weight loss as a goal is that fat people tend to go on binge/purge cycles, take up crazy weight loss schemes, yo-yo diet, and give up on exercise. They decide, "I've been exercising in moderation three or four times a week, and I've only lost two pounds in two months. I guess it's time to go back to Weight Watchers/Jenny Craig/Whatever because this isn't doing me any good."

On the contrary, REGARDLESS OF WEIGHT LOSS, exercising regularly will improve your flexibility, cardio fitness, and strength. Regular exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on blood sugar issues, cholesterol levels, heart health, blood pressure, and other health measures, EVEN IF YOU NEVER LOSE ONE POUND.

The other negative effect of focusing on weight instead of on good eating an exercise habits is that thin people think they have a "buy" on getting regular exercise. Keeping the body moving is important for everyone, regardless of body size.

Here's a link to the Health at Every Size community, which contains many articles about obesity, exericise, and myths about weight and health.

http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=haes