Stop Dieting!
I went looking for studies that researched restrictive diets because I wanted to talk about the negative effects of restricting yourself but I ended up finding an article that researched the research done on diets in general and I found out some very interesting things…
The authors of the article (that I cited in the caption) are trying to shift the paradigm of losing weight to be more about health rather than weight loss. Here’s why:
We should all know by now that super restrictive diets are not good for you. They encourage things like rapid weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, negative self image and disordered eating habits. They have also been shown to be unsustainable for most people. But according to the authors of the article, dieting in general, even if it’s not super restrictive can have more negative effects than positive.
They point out the weight fluctuations that come with “dieting” because, let’s be honest, how many people do you know that tried one diet, one time, and it worked? Most people try program after program because they don’t find lasting success so their weight goes down temporarily and then shoots back up when they fall off of the program and then it may go back down again with a new program and back up when they can’t do that one anymore… and it turns out, large weight fluctuations are just as bad for you as being obese.
Also, a study in Norway found that people in the lowest weight class have the highest risk of mortality. And guess what… most of the famous models and celebrities we strive to look like are in this weight class.
Something else I found very interesting is that there is documented evidence of publication bias when it comes to obesity studies. There are studies that showed negative effects from dieting and weight loss that were never published because the scientists that conducted the studies were biased and they just didn’t want to publish the results… so we don’t even have all of the information.
We don’t even really know how bad being obese is…
So, we NEED to shift the paradigm. This is not about “losing weight”… it’s about getting healthier. It’s about nourishing your body and your mind. It’s about building strong bodies and optimizing organ function. It’s about keeping that heart pumping so we can be there for our families and make differences in our communities…
If you need help healing your relationship with food and with your body, I’m here for you…
Source:
Cogan, J. C. & Ernsberger, P. (1999). Dieting, weight, and health: reconceptualizing research and policy. Journal of Social Issues, 55(2), 187-205. 10.1111/0022-4537.00112
