HealthNotDiets Digest, Issue 19, 2018
May 6 - 12, 2018
To celebrate 'International No Diet Day' month (May), Health Not Diets online courses are on special!
Unpacking Weight Science $20 off (RRP $59AUD)
Book here: https://www.trybooking.com/SKZK
Non-Diet Approach for Dietitians $45 off (RRP $195AUD)
Book here: https://www.trybooking.com/VRFQ
Enter 'NODIET' at checkout to apply discount
Australians can also get $5 off my books:
The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Dietitians for $40
The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Psychologists & Counsellors for $45 (including postage)
Order books via email: fiona@healthnotdiets.com
As always, if you like what you read here, please support the original author by liking/sharing/following/up-voting/subscribing directly to their feed.
Happy reading!
Articles and Blogs
Bias and Discrimination Keep Women With Higher Body Weights Away from the Doctor- Drexel Study
by Frank Otto
“We’re talking about a vulnerable population and we’re putting them at a greater risk,” Mensinger said. “We need to be aware of these system-level problems that are keeping people from going to appointments that would be saving lives.”
You Don't Give a Damn About My Health Or Gabourey's: On Fatphobia and Faux Concern
by Creighton Leigh
“I was the sickest I had ever been in my life. Ironically, everyone I knew couldn’t help but tell me how wonderful I looked... I lost pounds & inches each week. I also lost hair & teeth. The complications from pregnancy....had damned near killed me.”
University of Twitter? Scientists give impromptu lecture critiquing nutrition research
by Kelly Crowe
“The hardest conclusion to accept here is that when it comes to common nutritional exposures — tea, coffee, chocolate, alcohol — we may have to make decisions ...using common sense and not bad epi [epidemiology]."
The Subtle Sexism Of Your Open Plan Office
by Katherine Schwab
‘The researchers found that many women became hyper-aware of being constantly watched and their appearance constantly evaluated; multiple women told them that “there isn’t anywhere that you don’t feel watched.”’
Arsenic, Lead Found in Popular Protein Supplements
by Jessie Hirsch
“a new study shows that many of the top-selling powders and drinks may contain concerning levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, and toxins like bisphenol A (BPA)”
What happens when you start counting calories?
by Fumi Somehara
“Your energy requirement will change from day to day and your body has the ability to tell you how much food it needs even without using external quantification tools.”
No, Sugar Isn’t the New Heroin
by Traci Mann
“If your concern is that you will develop a physiological dependence on sugar, you needn’t worry. That kind of addiction, like one might have to heroin, is simply not going to happen.”
The Corruption of Evidence Based Medicine — Killing for Profit
by Jason Fung
“Evidence based medicine depends entirely upon having a reliable base of evidence (studies). If the evidence base is tampered with, and paid for, then [evidence based medicine] as a science is completely useless.”
Note: this author is VERY weight centric in other work (he's an intermittent fasting researcher). However, this piece does not mention weight and makes some important (and accurate) criticisms of the way we 'do research'.
Discrimination against fat people is so endemic, most of us don’t even realise it’s happening
by Angela Meadows
“fat stigma is so entrenched that many fat people are complicit in their own stigmatisation, believing that they deserve it, or that the perpetrator was just stating a fact”
Gynecologist wants women to 'close the browser' on trendy wellness advice
by Aviva Jacob
“a piece of advice that I give to everybody when they're researching information online: if that person is selling what they're talking about, close the browser and go somewhere else.”
10 books about body image every woman should read
by Dusty Baxter-Wright
“Every body is worth celebrating. As the pressure for young women to fit the ‘ideal image’ only intensifies, [here are] ten books...[to] make you rethink everything you thought you knew about body image...no matter what your shape, size or skin colour”
You can't get 'energy' from an 'energy drink'
by Keith-Thomas Ayoob
“If kids — or adults — feel they need more energy, they don’t need a drink, they need more sleep.”
Hooked on Weight Loss
by Louise Adams
“People ‘know’ that in the long term, the weight loss they think they need to live a happier life is unlikely to happen. But the fact that there’s a tiny statistical chance makes them think....maybe....And so they keep trying. Over and over again.”
About That Time My Daughter Went Viral For Being ‘Fat’
by Zoey Semchuk
“all of us have a bigger responsibility than ever before to teach our children body positivity. And respect.”
Landwhale by Jes Baker | Book Review
by Linda
“Fat activism is about angrily dismantling the system that make things like BoPo necessary, the systems that make being visible and happy while fat seem rebellious.”
3 Common Fatphobic Derailments
by Virgie Tovar
"There is this myth that you can tell what a person eats or how they move by looking at them. That is not true. There is also a myth that body size is entirely determined by how one eats and moves. That’s also not true."
Putting GPs in gyms is a fantasy – and a fallacy
by Ellie Cannon
“Exercise opportunities and good food should be there for all but that does not equate to telling everyone to eat organic black quinoa and take up HIIT.”
CW: weight centric but may be useful/interesting to some as it touches on inequality and social determinants of health
It all comes down to choice
by Renza Scibilia
“The food we eat; the diet we follow, are inherently personal choices. No one has the right to insist that there is only one way of eating.”
The lie pictures tell: an ex-model on the truth behind her perfect photos
by Reema Zaman
“in every image, while no man is physically present, the male gaze, palette and appetite are palpable, while my truth, the good and the wounds, is rendered invisible.”
Research &
Clinical Practice
“For teen girls, being called “fat” by friends or family may contribute to later developing eating disorders, and the harsh word from family members seems to carry the most weight, a recent U.S. study suggests.”
Original research paper:
Hunger, Jeffrey M., and A. Janet Tomiyama. "Weight Labeling and Disordered Eating Among Adolescent Girls: Longitudinal Evidence From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study." Journal of Adolescent Health (2018).
"In studies adopting weight as an exclusive or primary metric of outcome, potentially important differences may go undetected, as may their implications for our understanding of both disorder- and treatment-specific mechanisms."
“cognitive & affective challenges facing those with [Anorexia Nervosa], including the fear of weight gain, body dissatisfaction, emotional dysregulation, and an ongoing fear of calorie-dense foods, frequently persist after... weight gain has been achieved”
Murray, Stuart B., Katharine L. Loeb, and Daniel Le Grange. "Treatment outcome reporting in anorexia nervosa: time for a paradigm shift?." Journal of Eating Disorders 6.1 (2018): 10.
Issues with data and analyses: Errors, underlying themes, and potential solutions
by Brown et al
“Identifying and correcting errors is essential to science...Errors are arguably required for scientific advancement: Staying within the boundaries of established thinking and methods limits the advancement of knowledge.”
Brown, Andrew W., Kathryn A. Kaiser, and David B. Allison. "Issues with data and analyses: Errors, underlying themes, and potential solutions." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115.11 (2018): 2563-2570.
Soapbox & Shareables
It’s International No Diet Day! _____ May 6th is the day we (the size acceptance community) call for greater awareness that NOT weight loss dieting is always an option. _____ We (humanity) used to think that striving for weight loss would result in better health for people with larger bodies. People and companies that sell ‘weight loss’ products still want you to believe that. But we now know that not only do diets not work, but health markers and wellbeing can be enhanced without weight loss. _____ Use today to bin all of the ‘weight loss products’ in your cupboards, put away (or smash!) your scales and make an appointment with a non-diet health professional if you’re struggling with body image or eating. _____ https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9
_____ Reminder: Striving for better health is also NOT an obligation for anyone- you do you 🙂
FREE Unpacking Weight Science Podcast Episode! To demonstrate the methods outlined in Episode 5 'Anatomy of a Weight Loss Paper', I've deconstructed this little beauty for you, which itself is hot off the press: Hutchesson M, Callister R, Morgan P, Pranata I, Clarke E, Skinner G, et al. A Targeted and Tailored eHealth Weight Loss Program for Young Women: The Be Positive Be Healthe Randomized Controlled Trial. Healthcare. 2018;6(2):39. https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-podcast-18594048
Like podcasts?
How about bite-sized podcasts that you can claim as professional development?!?
I've designed the Unpacking Weight Science Podcast to suit health professionals, health science students and anyone who wants to know more about human body weight, health outcomes, interpreting weight related research and the far ranging effects of weight bias.
Twice a month, my 20-30 minute podcasts unpack different elements of weight bias & stigma, weight research, BMI, health behaviours and weight neutral approaches. Paid subscribers (only $5/month!) get the podcast six months before everyone else, plus full show notes, reference list, self-test quiz and resource materials for use in practice. This equates to an hour of professional development each month :-)
Available for subscribers on May 21st is:
"The Science of Self Compassion"
In this podcast I’ll take you through the research and academic operationalisation of self compassion, some of it’s associations and effects on individuals and their self care as well as on health practitioners with compassion fatigue and burnout. I’ll talk about how to weave language that models a self compassionate attitude into your counselling and encounters with others and yourself. The supplementary materials will contain exercises shown in experimental studies to induce self compassion.
Subscribe now at: https://www.patreon.com/UnpackingWeightScience
and instantly access 6 months of episodes before the rest of the world
AUSTRALIAN WORKSHOPS!!
Sydney and Melbourne BOOK NOW
Bookings via www.healthnotdiets.com
Want these 'live'? Then follow me on Twitter (@FionaWiller), Facebook (@HealthNotDiets) and Instagram (@FionaWiller)
Want some training in the non-diet approach or unpacking weight science? Resources include books, courses, workshops and handouts: visit www.healthnotdiets.com
See anything you think I'd like to share or comment about? Post in the comments below or email me at fiona@healthnotdiets.com