Many people struggle with weight – I know I have. So, when I first heard of health at every size, I was intrigued. There was finally a chance to let go of calorie-counting, eat ice cream whenever I wanted, and best of all, I did not have to worry about my weight. Naturally, I dove into this new perspective, hoping to uncover what it held and dreaming it was the answer to my weight struggles. But was it?

WHAT IS HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE?

I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth so I bought the “Health at Every Size” book and spent the next few days reading it. The premise was simple. According to the author, many studies had proven that people could be healthy at any size. In fact, she made the following claims:

• Not all bodies could be slim and that some people were bound to be “fat” even if they ate the same meals. Per her reasoning, even if two people ate the same and worked out similarly, one of them would still end up bigger than the other.
• There were NO health concerns directly linked to obesity and that doctors had blown the entire thing out of proportion. Her studies confirmed this.
• The BMI, which is the scale used to gauge health, was inaccurate, as it did not account for many factors, including movement and diet.
• Avoiding certain foods would only make people obsess over them. However, she did point out the need for nutrition which many people seem to gloss over.
• Yo-yo dieting was dangerous and had more negative effects on the body than not dieting at all. That people could not stick to diets as they were restrictive.

Even before learning about fat activism and fat acceptance, I was sold on the idea. I had just finished reading about intuitive eating and this was the final nudge I needed to embrace my love for “junk” foods. But was it all that the author promised?

THE LIES ABOUT HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE

A lot is wrong about Lindo Bacon’s book. And I will point out the most glaring facts:

• Bodies were not made to be fat: While it is true that people can eat the same foods and move the same and one person will be bigger than the other, the discrepancies are not much. It would be a difference of a few pounds but would not be a difference of hundreds of pounds. You cannot tell me that a 600-pound person eats and moves the same as a 150-pound person.
• Obesity predisposes people to certain diseases: Lindo used a clever play of words in stating that obesity did not cause lifestyle diseases. But no doctor has ever said that it causes obesity. Instead, obesity increases one’s risk of some conditions. Take GERD as an example. Patients who lose weight experience symptom alleviation yet those with higher weights often need surgery which often does not help as this is mainly a lifestyle condition.
• The resources used were limited: An easy way to get people on your side is to use research that favors your point of view which is what Lindo did. The resources used in the book were few and focused on past studies. Any researcher knows that a good paper should use the latest papers but this was not the case as the author was reaching for anything that could prove their point.
• You cannot be HEALTHY at every size: People who advocate for health at every size will be fast to counter that people suffering from restrictive eating disorders are unhealthy. They will scoff at a 90-pound adult but will fast embrace a 500-pound adult. Yet both people are unhealthy.

And this brings us to the next point – the BMI is a good measure of health. While it is centuries old and was created by a mathematician, it still holds a lot of truth. People who carry too much or too little weight are at risk of diseases that would not affect people who have an otherwise normal BMI.

PRACTICING HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE

While you cannot be healthy at every size, you can practice health at every size. What would this entail?

• Eating enough to fuel your body: People should not eat less than they need nor should they eat more calories than necessary. If you need help determining how much you should eat, check out this article
• Moving your body: People in the fat acceptance movement often frown upon exercise. But exercise is important as you must move your body for flexibility, calorie-burning, and other benefits. The key lies in finding an exercise you enjoy.

The “eat more, move less” tactic will always be in style as it works in all situations. While health at every size may seem promising, many people have gotten lost in the rhetoric and gained so much weight that their lives changed for the worse. In the coming blogs, I will expound more on these issues, explaining why you cannot be healthy at every size.

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