HealthNotDiets Digest, Issue 34, 2019
August 23 - September 5, 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
F.E.A.S.T. Position Statement On The Weight Watchers Kurbo App For Children
by Laura
“An app with the visibility and marketing behind it from one of the largest weight loss marketers in the world presents a danger to our children and their peers.”
https://www.feast-ed.org/position-statement-on-the-weight-watchers-kurbo-app-for-children...
This Fitness Instructor Isn't Your Typical Obstacle Racer – or Athlete
by Ragen Chastain
“Learning more about fat positive/weight neutral fitness and being a champion of these ideas on the playing field or in the gym make me more of an outsider than my physical appearance ever did. I’m very outspoken!”
Teenage boy goes blind after existing on Pringles, white bread and french fries
by Jack Guy
“This case highlights the impact of diet on visual and physical health, and the fact that calorie intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status.”
Meanwhile dietitians and eating disorder psychologists around the world yell profanities at their screens...
(see next article for a better job at the story)
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/03/health/poor-diet-blindness...
An 18-year-old has gone blind after a lifetime of eating junk
by The Sun
Here’s an article with more detail. It turns out the family were very concerned for a long time and ARFID (an avoidant-restrictive eating disorder) was diagnosed (on background of autism and ADHD). He’s now getting a PEG (a more permanent feeding tube) but really should have had that years ago.
Why don't doctors trust women? Because they don't know much about us
by Gabrielle Jackson
“I wrote this book because too many women are in pain, and that pain is not taken seriously. It is at once expected and denied. This deprives us of our full humanity. We deserve better.”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/02/why-dont-doctors-trust-women-because-they-dont-know...
When doctors fat-shame their patients, everybody loses
by Kunal Sindhu and Pranav Reddy
“As with sexuality and gender identity, age or racial biases, the path forward to combat weight bias in the medical community will be arduous and slow. But that does not mean we should abandon the cause. With plenty of research demonstrating the negative impact physicians’ weight biases have on patients, American physicians can and must do better.”CW: accounts of negative medical treatment encounters for larger bodied people which may be distressing.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/ncna...
Thinsplaining the Ease of Calorie Restriction
by ConscienHealth
I don't agree with everything this source offers, but this piece is right on.
https://conscienhealth.org/2019/09/thinsplaining-the-ease-of-calorie-restriction...
Unbelievable true story of the ‘radium girls’
by LJ Charleston
“While the New Jersey factory featured the most famous case of radium dial painting, it was far from being the only one. It’s believed there were 4000 workers hired at factories across the US and Canada using [deadly] radium to paint the dials. And, even though safety conditions improved, the watches were still being manufactured up until the late 1960s.”
Brittany Didn’t Need to Lose Weight to Run a Marathon
by Madison Malone Kircher
“There’s a whole community of proud, fat runners out there. We run 5Ks and half-marathons and full marathons. The extra-intense ones run ultramarathons....We’re not running to prove anything to anybody. We’re not running to lose weight or fix something about ourselves.”
https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/brittany-runs-a-marathon-movie-erases-fat-runners...
The Anguish of Eating While Fat
by Ragen Chastain
“The truth is that commenting on someone’s food choices (or anything about their body) without invitation is inexcusable. We have no obligation to act like it’s not.”
https://www.glamour.com/story/eating-while-fat...
Meet Jen Gunter: The doctor waging war on the cult of wellness
by Bridget Harrison
“[my sons] are here because of evidence-based medicine and people who did the hardcore research on surfactants [lung drugs] and ventilators. It makes me angry to think someone could have undone all that with some snake oil... Misinformation can do real harm”
Does mindfulness in politics make any difference?
by Rachel Lilley and Mark Whitehead
“once people developed stronger capacities to do their jobs (as opposed to developing skills to help them deal with the stresses their jobs created), they felt less anxious and...were less stressed than others who had experienced standard mindfulness-based courses for stress reduction.”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/does-mindfulness-politics-make-any-difference...
Setting boundaries in any relationship is an important act of self-care
by Lexi Weber
"Though they can be difficult to navigate, creating and maintaining boundaries is essential to our well-being.”
http://www.salamancapress.com/health/setting-boundaries-in-any-relationship-is-an-important-act...
Menstrual cups were invented in 1867. What took them so long to gain popularity?
by Marion Renault
"Because menstruation is so shrouded in shame and secrecy, we don’t socialize people to be curious about it as a bodily process. It’s presented as a problem to solve”Fascinating history of period management through the ages!
https://www.popsci.com/menstrual-cups-history-period-care...
Body Confidence and Body Positivity in Japan
By Hilary Keyes
“Japan, like most other countries, has a set of beauty standards that are hard—near unhealthy—to reach, but body positivity and more acceptance is starting to increase.”
https://savvytokyo.com/body-confidence-and-body-positivity-in-japan...
Fat Is Not a Bad Word
by Ashleigh Shackelford
"I reclaim the word fat in all spaces, formal and informal, because I get to,...I get to shift what was once used as a mechanism to break my spirit into something that offers a source of power and pride. It’s a reminder of all that I’ve come from, and all that I will do.”
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fat-is-not-a-bad-word...
When Asked to Build a Hospital That Lowers Blood Pressure, They Built a ‘Forest-Like’ Sanctuary
by McKinley Corbley
“in 2005, they were tasked with creating a hospital environment that soothed and uplifted its patients; and since being in nature has been shown to have dozens of physical and mental health benefits, they believed foliage and natural greenery to be the obvious solution."
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/green-hospital-lowers-blood-pressure-with-plants...
A Sensitive Topic
by Linda (Fluffy Kitten Party)
"[my weight] isn’t a topic I want to avoid because I’m “sensitive” about it, because it hurts my feelings when you acknowledge my body weight. It’s because this topic results in me receiving poorer medical care.”
https://fluffykittenparty.com/2019/08/25/a-sensitive-topic...
5 Questions for Thin People with Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating Brands
by Linda (Fluffy Kitten Party)
“There are a lot of people posting, writing, speaking and advocating for Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size. It’s amazing to see! But you know what’s not so amazing? Seeing ideas, thoughts and calls to action that originated in fat activist communities get co-opted to help thin women build their brand.”
Is Guilt Good for Your Health?
by Gina Siddiqui
"We could seize every opportunity to congratulate patients for efforts they made and in so doing nurture them to make more. But we don’t. We impose inflexible standards on entire patient populations, focused on outcomes rather than process.”
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/is-guilt-good-for-your-health...
Do Body-Positive Media Campaigns Actually Work?
by Jessica M. Alleva
"consumers want to see more body diversity in media, and exposure to body-positive social media makes women feel happier with their bodies.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/mind-your-body/201908/do-body-positive-media-campaigns...
'Your life is bigger than your pant size' - Yoga teacher Jessamyn Stanley on why body obsession needs to stop
by Jessamyn Stanley
"I almost deleted everything [social media] but then I recognised that there’s an opportunity to show what a yoga practice really looks like: complicated and messy and it’s not just about postures – it’s about finding balance in everyday life.”
These Joyful Photos Celebrate The Beauty Of Trans Women
by Amanda Picotte, Khrystyana
"They need to realize that we simply are human beings trying to exist in a world that viciously continues to deride, attack, and murder us for living authentically as ourselves.”
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/transgender-women-pictures...
Unpacking Weight Science Podcast
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 all previous episodes plus full show notes, reference list, self-test quiz and resource materials for use in practice for recent episodes. This equates to an hour of professional development activity each month :-)
Available for subscribers now is:
'A Good Fit: HAES and Dietetics'
Ep 26: I’m just about to finish writing my PhD thesis about the suitability of approaches that endorse health-focussed size acceptance (like Health at Every Size/HAES and Intuitive Eating) in one-on-one nutrition and dietetics counselling. So while it’s all fresh in my head I've given you a wrap up of what I wanted to find out, how I went about it, and what I found.
Subscribe now at: https://www.patreon.com/UnpackingWeightScience
and instantly access 22 episodes before the rest of the world!
Episodes 1-5 are now on iTunes!
Search 'Unpacking Weight Science'
to listen to them for free!
Training Opportunities in 2019
FACE-TO-FACE
The Non-Diet Approach for Dietitians (2 day workshop)
Fremantle, Western Australia, 26-27 June SOLD OUT
Auckland, New Zealand, 7-8 October
Melbourne, Victoria, 12-13 October
Newcastle, New South Wales, 21-22 November
Body Positive Counselling (1 day workshop)
ALL DISCIPLINES WELCOME
Perth, Western Australia, 28 June SOLD OUT
Auckland, New Zealand, 9 October
Melbourne, Victoria, 11 October
Newcastle, New South Wales, 23 November
ONLINE (SELF-PACED)
Introduction to the Non-Diet Approach FREE
Unpacking Weight Science $79AUD
The Non-Diet Approach for Dietitians $199AUD
The Science of Self Compassion $39AUD
Want these 'live'? Then follow me on Twitter (@FionaWiller), Facebook (@HealthNotDiets) and Instagram (@FionaWiller)
Want more info about 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