By: Sarah Bousquet, American University student and Intern
I recently read ‘Beyond a Shadow of a Diet’, by Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel. This book discusses the negative impact of dieting on our society and why dieting does the opposite of the intended goal of losing weight. The authors also focus on how weight and BMI are not accurate representations of health and wellness, and what we as individuals and as a society can do to better understand our health and our bodies. There were many myths about dieting and weight that were debunked throughout the book, but these three stuck out to me the most.
Myth 1: Diets help you lose weight
- As the book proves, dieting has the opposite affect on your body. Through dieting, certain foods that are deemed ‘bad’ by our society become forbidden, and therefore the dieter will have an increased desire to eat these foods. Although dieting can initially help you lose weight, the authors show that after about 2 years approximately 95% of dieters gain the weight back, or enter into a ‘yo-yo’ system of dieting which leads to gaining and losing weight over and over again. This is detrimental to the health because when dieting the body will begin to burn muscle and fat, so when the dieter gains the weight back they will gain it in fat and lose overall muscle mass, and therefore their health will be in a worse state than at the beginning.
Myth 2: BMI is an accurate depicter of health
- BMI was originally used to show the weight and general health of the population, not the health of the individuals. BMI standards for overweight and obese has changed in 1998, creating a new basis for what is considered ‘normal BMI’. BMI is not an indicator of health, only an indicator of a person’s overall body mass index. Since BMI is not an indicator of health, the number of your BMI is not nearly as important as treating your body right and, as the book states, being fit is much more important than losing weight or being thin. There is no correct body shape or weight, and, according to the authors, “a range of female body shapes celebrate life, renewal, and growth”.
Myth 3: Weight is an indicator of health, and obesity causes health problems and diseases.
- Weight actually has little to do with fitness and health, and therefore is not an accurate indicator of health. Everyones bodies are different, and people who are considered ‘overweight’ can be much healthier than people who are considered ‘normal’. The idea that obesity can cause health problems and diseases are not founded on facts, and studies that were done on obesity tended to be biased, because the doctors who have run those studies in the past were found to work for pharmaceutical companies that were releasing weight loss drugs.
The book ‘Beyond a Shadow of a Diet’ is working to end the stigma that is associated to weight and end the weight bias. They recognize that body shape, size and weight are not evidence of any particular way of eating or level of health. They are trying to show that mindfulness, or bringing awareness to your own health and eating without judgement or expectation will lead to self acceptance.