Promoting Obesity Is Not A Thing & And Other Things The Internet Gets Wrong About Body Positivity
The body positivity movement has been gaining some serious traction in recent years. And for good reason.
For those that have been living under a rock, the body positivity movement serves to:
Empower people in larger bodies,
Challenge the ways society presents and views the physical body,
Advocate the acceptance of all bodies — regardless of appearance, size, physical ability, race or gender,
Challenge beauty standards,
Build positive body-image and,
Improve self-confidence.
All seems pretty positive to me. Empowerment, self-acceptance and a positive self-image all seem like pretty worthwhile pursuits and without negative consequences. And so I’m triggered every time I read someone on the internet interpreting body positivity as “promoting obesity.” So that’s where we’re going with this. Buckle in.
Related to the body positivity movement is the Health At Every Size (HAES) movement, which is also worth discussing here.
Health At Every Size is a weight-inclusive approach to health. HAES advocates that a focus on healthy behaviours, rather than a focus on reducing body size, is the most effective way to support people of all sizes to nurture their own health. You can read more about the HAES movement on their website here. The principles of HAES include (not an exclusive list):
Accepting and respecting the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes,
Rejecting any idealising or pathologising of body weights and types,
Acknowledging our biases,
Working to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias,
Eating for wellbeing by promoting flexible, individualised eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs and pleasure, rather than being guided by externally regulated eating plans focused on weight control and,
Supporting physical activity that allows people of all sizes, abilities and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose with the objective of improving quality of life, rather than focusing exercise as a mode of weight control.
So that said, I’m going to try to clear up some misconceptions about body positivity and Health At Every Size.
Health is multi-faceted. The widely-accepted World Health Organisation definition is health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” While I do believe this definition has it’s shortcomings, it does acknowledge that health is not restricted to only the physical realm. Shaming and stigmatising someone for their body weight is not only an extremely unproductive way to promote positive lifestyle change and is not likely to lead to physical health improvements, but it also has significant negative implications on mental and social wellbeing. Disputing self-acceptance and restricting empowerment to those of certain body sizes has no positive implications, in any realm.
Someone with overweight or obesity can improve their health without obsessing over the scale. They can be physically active, improve their diet and make positive changes to their health, and they can do so with or without the guilt and shame associated with their weight. Empowering people in larger bodies and having health professionals engage in health promotion outside of the lens of weight loss can have significantly positive health outcomes. People in larger bodies can exercise and be encouraged to exercise because it can be fun, because it can be social, because it can foster a positive self-image, because it can develop self-confidence, leadership and a whole host of other personal development attributes. Body weight does not need to be rammed in to every damn conversation.
Plus size workout clothes do not promote obesity. This is seriously the dumbbest thing I’ve ever heard. You want people in bigger bodies to exercise and lose weight — then what tf do you expect them to wear? Anyone who has ever worn flattering active wear knows what it does to your self-image and enjoyment of training. Yet, people in bigger bodies should be pumped to go to the gym, where they already feel stigmatised, wearing a sack? Please.
This Nike mannequin sparked huge controversy when it was revealed in a London store in 2019 *sigh*
Just because you’re not shaming someone for their appearance, does not mean that you are not shaming them. “Your appearance is acceptable but you are in fact unhealthy and you must change.” There is shame inherent in every part of this statement. The idea that someone needs to be told to do something about their weight implies laziness, a lack of willingness and/or some moral obligation to change.
There is also a tonne of assumed knowledge and assumed circumstances in telling someone to simply “lose weight.” There are a million and one reasons why someone may want to lose weight or improve their health but have thus far been unsuccessful. Assuming that someone just hasn’t tried or needs to try harder is again stigmatising, shaming and not to mention unproductive.
Yes, overweight and obesity are risk factors for cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, cancer and many other diseases. I and no one else is denying that. However, as above, disempowering and shaming someone is unlikely to kick them in to healthy action anyway. How many smokers do you know pulling cigarettes out of a packet covered in pictures of gangrene? Scare tactics aren’t effective. Nor are guilt and shame.
Perhaps most importantly, self-rejection and desperation are rarely strong foundations upon which to build sustainable lifestyle change. Diets are notoriously unsuccessful across the board. Yet when you push someone to change their weight urgently, crash dieting is likely what they’ll turn to. If someone is feeling pressured, is not self-accepting and is desperate to change their outward appearance, they will be unlikely to want to engage in slow and progressive changes that they will be able to maintain long-term. However, if they like themselves enough and deem themselves worthy of nourishment and a quality life, it is much more likely that is what they’ll give them selves. The result: a better experience for the individual, more self-acceptance, better self-esteem, a better quality life and wait for it, better health outcomes.
Body positivity and Health At Every Size aren’t encourage people to gain weight. They are not encouraging people to cease exercise. They are not encouraging people to swap apples for Big Macs. What they are encouraging is treating people in bigger bodies with respect. To not assume anything about someone based on their appearance. To not start every health-related conversation with a comment pertaining to body weight. To promote exercise and nourishing foods for all of the benefits they provide outside of weight management. For people at every size to engage in health promoting behaviours — without a sole focus on pushing the scale down.
These movements are largely misunderstood. They promote health, happiness and a positive quality of life — goals not too dissimilar from your own I suspect.
If you made it this far, good for you. Always happy to chat.
Billie x