HealthNotDiets Digest, Issue 4, 2019
January 18 - January 24, 2019
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 & Blogs
How to Make Kids Comfortable in Their Own Bodies
by Melinda Wenner Moyer
"encouraging kids and adolescents to lose weight or criticizing their weight incites negative self-perceptions and disordered eating.”
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/01/child-body-image-advice-weight-shaming...
Q&A: Taking Nutrition Headlines with a Grain of Salt
by Madeline Drexler
“In the last five to 10 years, the academic literature in our field has been flooded with meta-analyses. The problem is that many of those papers are done by people who know a lot about statistics but little about nutrition.”
I Needed A Hysterectomy At Age 31. Doctors Fought Me Every Step Of The Way.
by Ace Ratcliff
"Educators, from high school sex ed teachers to med school professors, must include common female conditions like endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts in their teachings so both practitioners and patients can more easily identify them.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-health-care-fertility-pain...
Why the Body Positivity Movement is Turning Some People Off
by Gretchen Brown
“...true “body neutrality” and “fat acceptance” reject the idea that anyone should be ashamed, held back or discriminated against because of their body...That’s different than simply loving the way you look.”
https://www.rewire.org/living/body-positivity-movement-turning-people...
Watching our weight could be killing us
By Virginia Heffernan
“food restriction of almost any form—famine, elimination diets, wellness diets—routinely upsets hormonal regulation, potentially setting off serious mental and physical health problems and, paradoxically, weight gain.”
https://www.wired.com/story/watching-our-weight-could-be-killing-us...
How The Way Doctors Approach Body Weight Is Killing Women
by Liz Greene
“What we really need is medical professionals who practice patient advocacy — you know, those who care enough for their patients as human beings to actually speak up for their rights.”
https://ravishly.com/how-way-doctors-approach-body-weight-killing-women...
How Do I Deal With My Fear of Gaining Weight and Embrace Body Positivity?
by Ask Fluffy Kitten Party
“what to do when you want to embrace Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating but still aren’t comfortable with what you see in the mirror. Or when you’re not sure how to handle a coworker who will not shut up about their diet.”
https://fluffykittenparty.com/2019/01/21/how-do-i-deal-with-my-fear-of-gaining-weight-...
I'm reclaiming fitness from diet culture
by Rebecca Onion
"The ideal mother carries a baby in her body, breastfeeds, pumps breast milk, goes back to work or doesn’t, all without imposing on anyone else with her troubles. Somehow, she does everything, while barely existing at all.”
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/01/fit-mom-fitspo-instagram-misogyny...
The Body Shaming That Haunts Young Boys
by Luke O'Neil
“Although it’s been more than 20 years and I don’t remember what my school locker room looked like, I still remember the bodies inside. The ones I wanted desperately to have for my own, and the ones I worried I actually did.”
https://medium.com/s/story/the-body-shaming-that-haunts-young-boys...
Who decides what words mean
by Lane Greene
“The thousands of words in the language are a swirling mass constantly on the move...when one piece moves, threatening a gap or an overlap, something else moves too. The individual, short-term change is random; the overall, long-term change is systemic.”
https://aeon.co/amp/essays/why-language-might-be-the-optimal-self-regulating-system...
The Gym Isn’t Usually A Safe Space For Fat Women, But It’s Become My Sanctuary
by Fancy Feast
“I am a fat woman and I am an athlete....After a lifetime of assuming I would never excel in a sport, my body is proving me wrong.”
What to Say to Kids About Sugar
by U.S. News & World Report
“Our kids will continue to hear the phrase “too much sugar” and many other phrases that could be just as harmful, but we can help them learn to trust themselves in spite of it.”
https://wtop.com/news/2019/01/what-to-say-to-kids-about-sugar...
The big diet this year could be no diet at all
by Emma Waverman
“The peace intuitive eating has given Yazbek has opened up time for prioritizing more important things, such as her family, her friends and kids.”
Research & Clinical Practice
This thesis looks like great reading for dietitians about dietetic professional culture :-)
Seher, Christin L. The 'Making' and 'Unmaking' of the Dietetics Professional: A Feminist Poststructural Policy Analysis of Dietetics Boss Texts. Diss. Kent State University, 2018.
Soapbox & Shareables
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The UNTRAPPED retreat is being held at the end of March at the beautiful Gymea eco-resort in Uki, near the Goldcoast, in breathtaking natural surrounds. ⠀⠀⠀⠀
...⠀⠀⠀ The retreat features workshops and experiences from no less that 8 expert anti-diet guides, including Louise Adams, Shelley Lask from Body Positive Health & Fitness, Susan Williams from Zest Nutrition, Meg McClintock from Choose Nutrition, Janet Lowndes from Mind Body Well, Nicole McDermid from The Embodied Practitioner, Fiona Willer from Health, Not Diets, Ashlee Bennett from The Body Image Therapist, and Maya Rees from Omillusionyoga!
...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Join us for an unforgettable, life changing experience. Take a deep dive into what it really means to live UNTRAPPED. During this 4 day adventure, immerse yourself in the principles and practices of intuitive, connected embodiment, surrounded and supported by a very special group of anti-diet health professionals.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ …⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The retreat has been designed for members of the UNTRAPPED program, and right now there is a special offer, meaning that if you’re not an UNTRAPPED member, you can join up for a significantly reduced rate alongside your retreat registration. What better time to join UNTRAPPED!
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.
The 20-30 minute monthly podcasts unpack different elements of weight bias & stigma, weight research, BMI, health behaviours and weight neutral approaches. Paid subscribers (only $5/month!) get instant access to the previous 15 episodes plus full show notes, reference list, self-test quiz and resource materials for use in practice. This equates to an hour of professional development activity each month :-)
Available for subscribers now is:
'Defining Diet Culture'
Ep 19: Diet culture is something that we frequently talk about as toxic in the eating disorder treatment and Health at Every Size worlds, but what is it? In this episode I unpack what constitutes body and diet culture, what we can do to dismantle it and how it contrasts with the subculture of the fat acceptance movement.
Subscribe now at: https://www.patreon.com/UnpackingWeightScience
and instantly access 15 episodes before the rest of the world!
Episodes 1-4 are now on iTunes!
Search 'Unpacking Weight Science'
to listen to them for free!
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