Linda Bacon, HAES guru and all-around awesome lady has a great post up today over at the Huffington Post you should read, share and tape to your nosy neighbour's/friend's/family's front door.
"The evidence demonstrates that fat isn't the bogeyman it's made out to be, and that a focus on health habits, rather than weight, accomplishes the very goals collective thinness is supposed to achieve (if it were possible in the first place). Compared to control groups of people on weight loss programs, people who accept themselves and their bodies as they are tend to exercise more and eat better. They do better medically, on blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin sensitivity and similar measures, and feel happier in the long run. They adopt longer-lasting exercise habits. And guess which group weighs less, two years out? Neither! In the HAES study I conducted, both groups ended up with weights where they started, albeit with the dieters having endured another wearying and health-damaging deprivation-loss-regain cycle.
In other words, as long as we're focused on changing our bodies -- which the data shows isn't going to happen for most people, anyway -- we are missing the real benefits that come from caring for our bodies."
The whole article is definitely worth the read, though most of us familiar with HAES philosophy and thought are already pretty familiar with most of what she says. Still, it's a nice pick-me-up. Happy Wednesday!
