Content note: I use the term “obesity” in the title and throughout the article only to describe my career goal before realizing that my research is harmful. This term may seem like neutral medical terminology, but for many it is stigmatized.
I have been an obesity researcher for almost two decades and during this time I have helped develop and test many weight loss programs. Like other travelers in my career, I had good intentions at the beginning. I sincerely believe that I help people lose weight. But I’m wrong.
From childhood I struggled with my weight and body image. Raised in New York in the 80s and 90s, at the time Diet culture It is alive and thriving! I developed a basic belief that something was wrong with my body and being fat was something I should avoid, at any cost.
In my early teens, I attended weight loss camps in the hope that if I could lose weight, everything would be fine. I lost weight but came back immediately. I blamed myself, I thought if I really wanted to lose weight, ako I should have done better. At age 15, I decided to become a dietician.
I thought that more knowledge of nutrition was the key to controlling my weight and I could help others. This choice led to a career as a researcher where I focused on “coping” with chronic diseases through weight loss. But even during my strictly controlled study, with good resources and daily support, most participants achieved minimal weight loss and regained weight after completing the exercise. study.
After many attempts to develop an effective weight loss program, I realized that the research data I worked on had never shown that weight could change in the long run. And it’s not just in my research – the broader scientific literature has shown similar results. In a major national study 10-20% of survey participants. Maintaining weight loss after 1 year, with lower rates after years.
I also found that defining weight as the primary indicator of health is problematic. It is impossible to know a person’s health from body size alone, and being thin does not mean being in good health. The fact is that it is an important part of our weight and shape Determined by genetics – as well as height. The misconception that we can all be in small bodies is not only wrong, but also harmful and discriminatory.
After a lot of internal thinking, I realized I had an eating disorder that started in my childhood. I also realized that my eating disorder led to my professional decisions and beliefs about weight and health.
After treatment in the late 1930s, I saw my career in studying obesity in a new way: my job was to stay with bad habits and stereotypes and I could no longer be a part of it. I turned my attention to researching eating disorders, how they manifest and affect different types of people, and what we can do to treat them more effectively.
On this journey I learned some key things that I believe are important to organizations, doctors, researchers and the general public.
There is no “good food” or “bad food”.
The myth that certain foods (e.g. biscuits) are “bad” and should be avoided in favor of “delicious” foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables) is one of the harmful beliefs that led to my eating disorder in the first place. . Diet or restriction on any food is usually a The door to unhealthy food. People need all kinds of food for life and development, even the sugars and fats that we are mistakenly taught to decline all the time.
Furthermore, this black and white thinking ignores the fact that not everyone can be called. Access to “delicious” food. Social determinants, such as poverty and food insecurity, make it difficult for many to access or buy fresh fruits and vegetables, find time to prepare a “balanced” meal three times a day, or even to know when the next meal. Nutritional uncertainty is highly associated with eating disordersAnd the message is that avoiding certain foods to improve your health only carries that risk.
Weight is not essentially associated with health.
The health sector pays close attention to the relationship between weight and health. Instead of investigating other factors for conditions such as chronic pain or diabetes, many doctors almost naturally approach weight loss and suggest that weight loss is the answer. It has this kind of weight distortion grow up In recent decades.
Weight loss often affects people with large bodies Avoid seeking health care Because of the stigma they experience. Doctors should prioritize addressing other, more serious causes of symptoms rather than being a major weight factor, regardless of what they are treating. They should also listen to their patients and trust that they know their body better, rather than refusing to diagnose pain or illness based on the patient’s body size.
It’s never too late to throw out harmful ideas.
I have maintained my faith in weight, nutrition and health for decades, both personally and professionally. It’s easy to think that if you have a basic idea in the long run and you also develop a career from it, it’s impossible to change your perspective.
What helped me come to know this belief was the recognition that I encourage harmful habits that often occur in people with eating disorders. The only difference is that we think these behaviors are beneficial to those with large bodies and harmful to a slender body. The truth is, these behaviors are harmful to everyone.
My journey has not been easy, but I have earned a lot as a result. I lost weight because my body needed more nutrition. I freed myself from the overwhelming belief that my value was tied to my weight. I developed a new passion for researching eating disorders and helping others figure out what I had learned to use.
I also had better mental health, more connection with my family and friends, and a firm belief that we should destroy the harmful ideas about weight and health in our culture so that our next generation of children have grown up believing their bodies don’t need it. change. To give them value.
Dr. Dori Steinberg is a researcher, dietician and advocate for the prevention of eating disorders. He is currently Vice President Research and Policy Equip Health.
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Source: Huffpost
